Distributed mimo communication scheduling in an access point cluster

ABSTRACT

Various aspects of the disclosure relate to distributed multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) communication such as coordinated beamforming or Joint MIMO. In some aspects, distributed MIMO is used to support communication in a cluster of wireless nodes (e.g., access points). A distributed MIMO scheduling scheme as taught herein is used to schedule the wireless nodes (e.g., access points and/or stations) operating within the cluster. For example, stations may be scheduled across basis services sets of the access points for a downlink transmission and/or an uplink transmission.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)

This application claims priority to and the benefit of provisionalpatent application No. 62/601,116 filed in the U.S. Patent and TrademarkOffice on Mar. 11, 2017, and provisional patent application No.62/471,952 filed in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on Mar. 15,2017, the entire content of each of which is incorporated herein byreference.

INTRODUCTION

Various aspects described herein relate to wireless communication and,more particularly but not exclusively, to distributed multiple-inputmultiple-output (MIMO) communication for a cluster of wireless nodes(e.g., access points).

Some types of wireless communication devices employ multiple antennas toprovide a higher level of performance as compared to devices that use asingle antenna. One example is multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO)system where a transmitting device uses multiple transmit antennas tosend signals to a receiving device that has one or more receiveantennas. Another example is a millimeter wave (mmW) system wheremultiple antennas are used for beamforming (e.g., in the range of 30GHz, 60 GHz, etc.).

FIG. 1 illustrates a communication system 100 where a mmW access point(AP) 102 communicates with a first mmW station (STA) 104 and a secondmmW STA 106 via different beamforming directions. As indicated by a setof beams 108, the mmW AP 102 may communicate via any one of a pluralityof directional beams. As indicated by a set of beams 110, the first mmWSTA 104 may communicate via any one of a plurality of directional beams.As indicated by a set of beams 112, the second mmW STA 106 maycommunicate via any one of a plurality of directional beams. Forexample, the AP 102 may communicate with the first mmW STA 104 via afirst beamforming direction 114 and communicate with the second mmW STA106 via a second beamforming direction 116.

In practice, different devices will transmit (e.g., send beamformedtransmissions) on a shared communication resource. However,transmissions by a one device on a particular communication resource mayinterfere with communication of another device on that samecommunication resource, even when the signals are beamformed. Thus,there is a need for effective techniques for sharing a communicationresource.

SUMMARY

The following presents a simplified summary of some aspects of thedisclosure to provide a basic understanding of such aspects. Thissummary is not an extensive overview of all contemplated features of thedisclosure, and is intended neither to identify key or critical elementsof all aspects of the disclosure nor to delineate the scope of any orall aspects of the disclosure. Its sole purpose is to present variousconcepts of some aspects of the disclosure in a simplified form as aprelude to the more detailed description that is presented later.

In some aspects, the disclosure provides an apparatus configured forcommunication that includes a processing system and an interface. Theprocessing system is configured to: identify a plurality of firstwireless nodes, wherein the plurality of first wireless nodes aremembers of a cluster of first wireless nodes, identify a plurality ofsecond wireless nodes, wherein a first one of the plurality of secondwireless nodes is served by a first one of the plurality of firstwireless nodes and a second one of the plurality of second wirelessnodes is served by a second one of the plurality of first wirelessnodes, and generate a communication schedule for a distributedmultiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) communication, wherein thecommunication schedule comprises identifiers of the plurality of firstwireless nodes and identifiers of the plurality of second wirelessnodes. The interface is configured to output the communication schedulefor transmission.

In some aspects, the disclosure provides a method for communication foran apparatus. The method includes: identifying a plurality of firstwireless nodes, wherein the plurality of first wireless nodes aremembers of a cluster of first wireless nodes; identifying a plurality ofsecond wireless nodes, wherein a first one of the plurality of secondwireless nodes is served by a first one of the plurality of firstwireless nodes and a second one of the plurality of second wirelessnodes is served by a second one of the plurality of first wirelessnodes; generating a communication schedule for a distributedmultiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) communication, wherein thecommunication schedule comprises identifiers of the plurality of firstwireless nodes and identifiers of the plurality of second wirelessnodes; and outputting the communication schedule for transmission.

In some aspects, the disclosure provides an apparatus configured forcommunication. The apparatus includes: means for identifying a pluralityof first wireless nodes, wherein the plurality of first wireless nodesare members of a cluster of first wireless nodes; means for identifyinga plurality of second wireless nodes, wherein a first one of theplurality of second wireless nodes is served by a first one of theplurality of first wireless nodes and a second one of the plurality ofsecond wireless nodes is served by a second one of the plurality offirst wireless nodes; means for generating a communication schedule fora distributed multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) communication,wherein the communication schedule comprises identifiers of theplurality of first wireless nodes and identifiers of the plurality ofsecond wireless nodes; and means for outputting the communicationschedule for transmission.

In some aspects, the disclosure provides a wireless node. The wirelessnode includes a processing system and a transmitter. The processingsystem is configured to: identify a plurality of first wireless nodes,wherein the plurality of first wireless nodes are members of a clusterof first wireless nodes, identify a plurality of second wireless nodes,wherein a first one of the plurality of second wireless nodes is servedby a first one of the plurality of first wireless nodes and a second oneof the plurality of second wireless nodes is served by a second one ofthe plurality of first wireless nodes, and generate a communicationschedule for a distributed multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO)communication, wherein the communication schedule comprises identifiersof the plurality of first wireless nodes and identifiers of theplurality of second wireless nodes. The transmitter is configured totransmit the communication schedule.

In some aspects, the disclosure provides a computer-readable medium(e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable medium) storingcomputer-executable code. The computer-executable code includes code to:identify a plurality of first wireless nodes, wherein the plurality offirst wireless nodes are members of a cluster of first wireless nodes;identify a plurality of second wireless nodes, wherein a first one ofthe plurality of second wireless nodes is served by a first one of theplurality of first wireless nodes and a second one of the plurality ofsecond wireless nodes is served by a second one of the plurality offirst wireless nodes; generate a communication schedule for adistributed multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) communication, whereinthe communication schedule comprises identifiers of the plurality offirst wireless nodes and identifiers of the plurality of second wirelessnodes; and output the communication schedule for transmission.

These and other aspects of the disclosure will become more fullyunderstood upon a review of the detailed description, which follows.Other aspects, features, and implementations of the disclosure willbecome apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art, upon reviewingthe following description of specific implementations of the disclosurein conjunction with the accompanying figures. While features of thedisclosure may be discussed relative to certain implementations andfigures below, all implementations of the disclosure can include one ormore of the advantageous features discussed herein. In other words,while one or more implementations may be discussed as having certainadvantageous features, one or more of such features may also be used inaccordance with the various implementations of the disclosure discussedherein. In similar fashion, while certain implementations may bediscussed below as device, system, or method implementations it shouldbe understood that such implementations can be implemented in variousdevices, systems, and methods.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings are presented to aid in the description ofaspects of the disclosure and are provided solely for illustration ofthe aspects and not limitations thereof.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a wireless communication system inwhich aspects of the present disclosure may be employed.

FIG. 2 illustrates another example of a wireless communication system inwhich aspects of the present disclosure may be employed.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example of a cluster of access points inaccordance with some aspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example of a downlink schedule in accordance withsome aspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 5 illustrates another example of a cluster of access points inaccordance with some aspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example of an uplink schedule in accordance withsome aspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 7 illustrates an example of downlink signal measurement signalingthat uses beacons in accordance with some aspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 8 illustrates an example of downlink signal measurement signalingthat uses a dedicated sequence in accordance with some aspects of thedisclosure.

FIG. 9 illustrates an example of uplink signal measurement signalingthat uses block acknowledgements in accordance with some aspects of thedisclosure.

FIG. 10 illustrates an example of uplink signal measurement signalingthat uses trigger frames in accordance with some aspects of thedisclosure.

FIG. 11 illustrates an example of downlink coordinated beamformingsounding where access points independently send null data packetannouncements in accordance with some aspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 12 illustrates an example of downlink coordinated beamformingsounding where a primary access point sends a null data packetannouncement for all of the access points in accordance with someaspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 13 illustrates an example of a multiple basic service set soundingscheduling frame in accordance with some aspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 14 illustrates an example of an aggregated null data packetannouncement in accordance with some aspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 15 illustrates an example of sending a scheduling decision in asounding trigger and scheduling frame at the beginning of an uplinksounding per basis service set in accordance with some aspects of thedisclosure.

FIG. 16 illustrates an example of sending an inquiry frame to solicitinput from participating access points in accordance with some aspectsof the disclosure.

FIG. 17 illustrates an example of a scheduler polling potential stationsin participating basic service sets for per-station information inaccordance with some aspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 18 illustrates an example of access points advertising the inputsof its basis service set in transmitted frames in accordance with someaspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 19 illustrates an example of stations advertising their per-stationinformation in transmitted frames in accordance with some aspects of thedisclosure.

FIG. 20 illustrates an example of sending a multiple access pointtrigger to initiate a downlink coordinated beamforming transmission inaccordance with some aspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 21 illustrates an example of signaling where an initiating nodeholds a long transmission opportunity for a sequence of downlinkcoordinated beamforming transmissions in accordance with some aspects ofthe disclosure.

FIG. 22 illustrates an example of signaling where subsequent multipleaccess point trigger frames are ignored in accordance with some aspectsof the disclosure.

FIG. 23 illustrates an example of downlink coordinated beamformingscheduling involving sending an inquiry frame to solicit candidatestation information from a set of access points in accordance with someaspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 24 illustrates an example of downlink coordinated beamformingscheduling where each access point advertises candidate stationinformation in the access point's transmitted frames in accordance withsome aspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 25 illustrates an example of downlink coordinated beamformingscheduling where each access point advertises candidate stationinformation during defined time periods in accordance with some aspectsof the disclosure.

FIG. 26 illustrates an example of downlink coordinated beamformingcascaded scheduling in accordance with some aspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 27 illustrates an example of signaling where each access pointsends an individual trigger frame to trigger an uplink transmission fromits station(s) in accordance with some aspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 28 illustrates an example of signaling where access points sendtrigger frames on the same resource in accordance with some aspects ofthe disclosure.

FIG. 29 illustrates an example of sending a scheduling decision in ascheduling frame in accordance with some aspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 30 illustrates an example of signaling where a scheduling framedirectly triggers all scheduled stations in accordance with some aspectsof the disclosure.

FIG. 31 illustrates an example of signaling where an initiating nodeholds a long transmission opportunity for a sequence of uplinkcoordinated beamforming transmissions in accordance with some aspects ofthe disclosure.

FIG. 32 illustrates an example of signaling where each access point'sacknowledgement is combined with a trigger frame in accordance with someaspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 33 illustrates an example of uplink coordinated beamformingscheduling involving sending an inquiry frame to solicit candidatestation information from a set of access points in accordance with someaspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 34 illustrates an example of a scheduler polling potential stationsthat are in range of the scheduler for per-station information inaccordance with some aspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 35 illustrates an example of uplink coordinated beamformingscheduling where each access point advertises candidate stationinformation in the access point's transmitted frames in accordance withsome aspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 36 illustrates an example of uplink coordinated beamformingscheduling where each station advertises its per-station information inthe station's transmitted frames in accordance with some aspects of thedisclosure.

FIG. 37 illustrates another example of a cluster of access points inaccordance with some aspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 38 illustrates an example of uplink coordinated beamformingcascaded scheduling in accordance with some aspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 39 illustrates an example of a composite downlink coordinatedbeamforming frame in accordance with some aspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 40 illustrates an example of a composite downlink orthogonalfrequency division multiple access frame in accordance with some aspectsof the disclosure.

FIG. 41 illustrates an example of a downlink multiple basis service setframe in accordance with some aspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 42 illustrates an example of a frame with a common schedulingpreamble in accordance with some aspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 43 illustrates another example of a cluster of access points inaccordance with some aspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 44 illustrates an example comparison of multi-user carrier sensemultiple access, coordinated beamforming, and joint MIMO.

FIG. 45 illustrates an example of a wireless communication system inwhich aspects of the present disclosure may be employed.

FIG. 46 is a functional block diagram of an example apparatus that maybe employed within a wireless communication system in accordance withsome aspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 47 is a functional block diagram of example components that may beutilized in the apparatus of FIG. 46 to transmit wireless communication.

FIG. 48 is a functional block diagram of example components that may beutilized in the apparatus of FIG. 46 to receive wireless communication.

FIG. 49 is a functional block diagram of an example apparatus inaccordance with some aspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 50 is a flow diagram of an example process for identifying nodesfor a nulling operation in accordance with some aspects of thedisclosure.

FIG. 51 is a flow diagram of an example process for providing anindication based on signal measurement information in accordance withsome aspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 52 is a flow diagram of an example sounding scheduling process inaccordance with some aspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 53 is a flow diagram of an example scheduling process in accordancewith some aspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 54 is a flow diagram of an example a scheduled communicationprocess in accordance with some aspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 55 is a flow diagram of an example process for triggeringcommunication in accordance with some aspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 56 is a flow diagram of another example of a scheduledcommunication process in accordance with some aspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 57 is a simplified block diagram of several sample aspects of anapparatus configured with functionality in accordance with some aspectsof the disclosure.

FIG. 58 is a simplified block diagram of several sample aspects of amemory configured with code in accordance with some aspects of thedisclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Various aspects of the disclosure are described below. It should beapparent that the teachings herein may be embodied in a wide variety offorms and that any specific structure, function, or both being disclosedherein is merely representative. Based on the teachings herein oneskilled in the art should appreciate that an aspect disclosed herein maybe implemented independently of any other aspects and that two or moreof these aspects may be combined in various ways. For example, anapparatus may be implemented or a method may be practiced using anynumber of the aspects set forth herein. In addition, such an apparatusmay be implemented or such a method may be practiced using otherstructure, functionality, or structure and functionality in addition toor other than one or more of the aspects set forth herein. Furthermore,an aspect may include at least one element of a claim. For example, amethod of communication may include: identifying a plurality of firstwireless nodes, wherein the plurality of first wireless nodes aremembers of a cluster of first wireless nodes; identifying a plurality ofsecond wireless nodes, wherein a first one of the plurality of secondwireless nodes is served by a first one of the plurality of firstwireless nodes and a second one of the plurality of second wirelessnodes is served by a second one of the plurality of first wirelessnodes; generating a communication schedule for a distributedmultiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) communication, wherein thecommunication schedule comprises identifiers of the plurality of firstwireless nodes and identifiers of the plurality of second wirelessnodes; and outputting the communication schedule for transmission.

A wireless MIMO system may use multiple transmit antennas to providebeamforming-based signal transmission. Typically, beamforming-basedsignals transmitted from different antennas are adjusted in phase (andoptionally amplitude) such that the resulting signal power is focusedtoward a receiver device (e.g., an access terminal).

A wireless MIMO system may support communication for a single user at atime or for several users concurrently. Transmissions to a single user(e.g., a single receiver device) are commonly referred to as single-userMIMO (SU-MIMO), while concurrent transmissions to multiple users arecommonly referred to as multi-user MIMO (MU-MIMO).

MIMO may be used in a wireless local area network (WLAN) that supportsIEEE 802.11ax or some other 802.11-based standard. An access point(e.g., a base station) of an 802.11-based MIMO system employs multipleantennas for data transmission and reception, while each user STA (whichmay be referred to as a user equipment) employs one or more antennas.The access point communicates with the STAs via forward link channelsand reverse link channels. In some aspects, a downlink (DL) channelrefers to a communication channel from a transmit antenna of the accesspoint to a receive antenna of a STA, and an uplink (UL) channel refersto a communication channel from a transmit antenna of a STA to a receiveantenna of the access point. Downlink and uplink may be referred to asforward link and reverse link, respectively.

MIMO channels corresponding to transmissions from a set of transmitantennas to a receive antenna are referred to spatial streams sinceprecoding (e.g., beamforming) is employed to direct the transmissionstoward the receive antenna. Consequently, in some aspects each spatialstream corresponds to at least one dimension. A MIMO system thusprovides improved performance (e.g., higher throughput and/or greaterreliability) through the use of the additional dimensionalities providedby these spatial streams.

Various aspects of the disclosure relate to distributed MIMOcommunication which may be referred to or implemented using, forexample, coordinated beamforming (COBF), joint MIMO, multiple basisservice set (multi-BSS) joint communication, or orthogonal frequencydivision multiple access (OFDMA) communication. In some aspects,distributed MIMO is used to support communication in a cluster of accesspoints. For example, a distributed MIMO scheduling scheme as taughtherein may be used to schedule COBF transmissions by the access pointsand/or stations operating within the cluster, where nulling is scheduledas needed to mitigate interference between these devices. For purposesof illustration, various aspects of the disclosure may be described inthe context of COBF or another form distributed MIMO communication. Itshould be appreciated, however, that these teachings may be equallyapplicable to distributed MIMO communication generally and/or otherforms of communication. Also, various aspects of the disclosure may bedescribed in the context of UL and/or DL communication. It should beappreciated that these teachings may be equally applicable to otherforms of communication (e.g., peer-to-peer communication, etc.).

Access points (APs) that don't use all of their dimensions (e.g.,antennas) for communication with their served STAs can be grouped forcoordinated beamforming. In some aspects, coordinated beamforming mayfully utilize the unused AP dimensions by grouping thedimension-underutilized APs together in the same time slot. In thiscase, the unused AP dimensions are used to form nulls to the stations(STAs) of other APs (e.g., other basic service sets, BSSs) of thebeamforming group to mitigate interference caused by transmissions fromthe cluster devices during the time slot. A null may be formed, forexample, by configuring the beamforming parameters (e.g., phase) for aset of antennas to reduce interference caused by the nulling device atanother device or to reduce interference from another device at thenulling device.

FIG. 2 illustrates a wireless communication system 200 where a firstapparatus 202 (e.g., an AP) and a second apparatus 204 (e.g., an AP) arepart of a cluster (e.g., a cluster of APs). An optional third apparatus206 (e.g., a scheduling entity, a central controller, or some otherentity) is also shown. The first apparatus 202 serves a fourth apparatus208 (e.g., a STA). The second apparatus 204 serves a fifth apparatus 210(e.g., a STA). A different number of apparatuses could be associatedwith a cluster in other scenarios.

Each of the apparatuses of FIG. 2 includes a respective transceiver 212,214, 216, 218, or 220 for wireless communication and/or wiredcommunication. The first apparatus 202 includes a transceiver 212 forcommunicating via a wireless communication medium. The second apparatus204 includes a transceiver 214 for communicating via the wirelesscommunication medium. The fourth apparatus 208 includes a transceiver218 for communicating via the wireless communication medium. The fifthapparatus 210 includes a transceiver 220 for communicating via thewireless communication medium. The third apparatus 206 may include atransceiver 216 for communicating via the wireless communication medium.Alternatively, or in addition, communication to and from the thirdapparatus 206 may be over a wired medium (e.g., a wired backhaul).

The first apparatus 202 and the second apparatus 204 includefunctionality to schedule distributed MIMO transmissions and to send andreceive information used to create the schedule. To this end, the firstapparatus 202 includes functionality for distributed MIMO scheduling andsignaling control 222 and the second apparatus 204 includesfunctionality for distributed MIMO scheduling and signaling control 224.For example, the second apparatus 204 (e.g., an AP that is a leader ofthe cluster, or a group leader) may receive dimension information andstation information from the first apparatus 202 (e.g., an AP) todetermine how to schedule distributed MIMO transmissions for thecluster. In some implementations, the third apparatus may includefunctionality for distributed MIMO scheduling 226. For example, thethird apparatus 206 may receive dimension information and stationinformation from the first apparatus 202 and the second apparatus 204 todetermine how to schedule distributed MIMO transmissions for thecluster. The exchange of this and other scheduling-related informationis represented by the communication symbols 236, 238, and 240 in FIG. 2.

Any of the first apparatus 202, the second apparatus 204, and the thirdapparatus 206 may obtain information from the fourth apparatus 208 andthe fifth apparatus 210 to facilitate distributed MIMO scheduling. Tothis end, the fourth apparatus 208 includes functionality formeasurement operations 228 and functionality for providing inputs forthe scheduling 232. In addition, the fifth apparatus 210 includesfunctionality for measurement operations 230 and functionality forproviding inputs for the scheduling 234. The exchange of this and otherinformation as well as the scheduled distributed MIMO transmissionsbetween the first apparatus 202, the second apparatus 204, the fourthapparatus 208, and the fifth apparatus 210 are represented by thecommunication symbols 242 and 244 in FIG. 2.

I. Overview

The disclosure relates in some aspects to over-the-air (OTA) schedulingand communication for a cluster that may have unplanned, unmanaged APdeployments (e.g., a dense apartment building). In such a deployment,there might not be a central controller or wired inter-APcommunications. However, legacy APs may exist. The scheduling andcommunication may be generalized as four steps for operations associatedwith a DL data transmission and as three steps of operation associatedwith an UL data transmission.

I-A. DL Steps

Referring initially to the DL, in Step 1, an AP forms or joins acluster. In some cases, the cluster may remain static for a relativelylong period of time (e.g., hours or days). An AP that is not currentlyin a cluster may discover compatible standalone APs with which to form acluster, or the AP may discover existing clusters in range that the APcan join. The standalone APs and devices (e.g., APs) of the clusters maybroadcast AP information and cluster information on their operatingchannels. Step 1 is not discussed in detail in the following discussion.

Step 2 involves identifying, for each BSS of the cluster, the STAs thatare in the BSS and do not need to be nulled (referred to herein as reuseSTAs or InBSS STAs) and the STAs that need to be nulled (referred toherein as non-reuse STAs or OBSS STAs). This STA identification may beconducted repeatedly (e.g., once per second or at other times) to trackany changes in path loss (PL).

Each AP selects its InBSS STAs to report measured received signalstrength indication (RSSIs) or some other channel quality or signalmeasure from all APs in the cluster. Based on these measurements, the APdetermines, for all of these STAs, the identities of the APs that willneed to perform a nulling operation. In other words, each AP determinesnulling OBSS AP IDs per STA. Measurements can be based on beacons, nulldata packet (NDP) sounding, a dedicated measurement sequence, or someother form of signaling.

After the measurement phase, an AP may send the results to a scheduler(e.g., a leader AP such as the head of a cluster) or to all of the APsin the cluster. The scheduler or the APs as a group may then use thisinformation in Step 3 to schedule sounding or in Step 4 for DL COBFtransmission (Tx). Alternatively, the AP may send the results to theseentities as part of reported candidate STA information in Step 3 andStep 4. These and other aspects of Step 2 for DL are discussed in detailin section IV-A that follows.

Step 3 involves DL COBF sounding scheduling and transmission. Theseoperations may be conducted repeatedly (e.g., once every 20milliseconds, ms). For scheduling, a leader AP may collect candidate STAinformation from each AP in the cluster, make a sounding schedulingdecision based on this information, and announce the sounding schedulingdecision. The decision may include the identifiers (IDs) ofparticipating APs (AP IDs), the NDP order or configuration, the IDs ofSTAs that are to measure each AP's NDP, and the STAs' beamforming report(BFRP) configurations.

In some cases, the scheduling decision may simply be based on theresults from Step 2. For example, the scheduling decision might onlyschedule certain STAs (e.g., those STAs requiring nulling by at leastone AP) to measure an NDP.

Once the sounding is scheduled, the sounding transmission is performed.Participating APs execute the sounding sequence based on the soundingdecision. These and other aspects of Step 3 for DL are discussed indetail in section V that follows.

Step 4 involves DL COBF data transmission scheduling and transmission.These operations may be conducted repeatedly (e.g., once every 4 ms).For scheduling, the channel access winning AP may collect candidate STAinformation from each AP in the cluster, make a DL data transmissionscheduling decision based on this information, and announce the DL datatransmission scheduling decision. The decision may include, for example,the IDs of the scheduled STAs, the stream number (#) per STA (the numberof streams per station), the IDs of the nulling OBSS APs per STA, the DLCOBF transmission duration and bandwidth (BW), and the ULacknowledgement (ACK) resources per STA. The decision may use theresults from Step 2 to ensure that, if needed, a STA is nulled by theappropriate OBSS APs and to ensure that the scheduled STA reports itsBFRP to all of its nulling APs in Step 3.

Once the DL COBF data transmission is scheduled, the DL COBF datatransmission is performed. Participating APs execute the DL datatransmission based on the transmission scheduling decision. These andother aspects of Step 4 for DL are discussed in detail in section VIthat follows.

I-B. UL Steps

Referring now to the UL, Step 1 here is the same as Step 1 discussedabove for the DL.

As in Step 2 for DL, Step 2 for the UL involves identifying, for eachBSS of the cluster, the reuse STAs and non-reuse STAs. Again, this STAidentification may be conducted repeatedly (e.g., once per second or atother times) to track any changes in path loss (PL). The manner in whichthe STAs are identified is slightly different for UL, however.

For UL, each AP estimates the UL RSSI (or some other channel quality orsignal measure) that each of its InBSS STAs causes at each AP in thecluster. The AP then determines the IDs of the OBSS APs that will needto null this STA in the UL. This STA identification can be combined withthat for the DL (e.g., Step 2 for the DL).

After the measurement phase, an AP may send the results to a scheduler(e.g., a leader AP such as the head of a cluster) or to all of the APsin the cluster. The scheduler or the APs as a group may then use thisinformation in Step 3 to schedule a UL COBF transmission. Alternatively,the AP may send the results to these entities as part of reportedcandidate STA information in Step 3. These and other aspects of Step 2for UL are discussed in detail in section IV-B that follows.

Step 3 involves UL COBF data transmission scheduling and transmission(e.g., once every 4 ms or at other times). For scheduling, the channelaccess winning AP may collect candidate STA information from each AP inthe cluster, make an UL data transmission scheduling decision based onthis information, and announce the UL data transmission schedulingdecision. The decision may include, for example, the IDs of thescheduled STAs, the stream number (#) per STA, the IDs of the nullingOBSS APs per STA, the UL COBF transmission duration and bandwidth, andthe DL ACK resources per AP. The decision may use the results from Step2 to ensure that, if needed, a STA is nulled by the appropriate OBSS APsin the UL.

The scheduling decision may also include the resource allocation foreach AP's trigger frame (TF). An AP's TF will trigger the AP's STAs toconduct an UL COBF transmission.

Once the UL COBF data transmission is scheduled, the UL COBF datatransmission is performed. Participating APs execute the datatransmission based on the UL transmission scheduling decision. These andother aspects of Step 3 for UL are discussed in detail in section VIIthat follows.

The above steps for distributed MIMO scheduling and transmission inaccordance with the teachings herein will now be described in moredetail with reference to FIGS. 3-44. For purposes of explanation, FIGS.3-42 illustrate various concepts in the context of a coordinatedbeamforming (COBF) architecture. As discussed in conjunction with FIGS.43 and 44, for example, the teachings herein are applicable to othertypes of distributed MIMO (e.g., Joint MIMO, etc.).

II. DL COBF Scheduling Example

FIG. 3 illustrates an example wireless communication system 300 wherefour APs (AP1-AP4) form a group for COBF transmission. In this example,each AP has two STAs in its basic service set (BSS). A first AP AP1,serves STAs S1-1 and S1-2, a second AP AP2 serves STAs S2-1 and S2-2, athird AP AP3 serves STAs S3-1 and S3-2, and a fourth AP AP4 serves STAsS4-1 and S4-2. Each AP has at least five antennas (i.e., fivedimensions). Each STA has single antenna. Other configurations could beused in other scenarios.

In some aspects, there may be two categories of STAs. A STA of the firstcategory doesn't require nulling by its serving AP and may be referredto as an InBSS STA (or IBSS STA). A STA of the second category requiresnulling by at least one AP other than its serving AP and may be referredto as an out-of-BSS STA (OBSS STA).

InBSS STAs (the boxes with thicker lines in FIG. 3) have a sufficientsignal and interference to noise ratio (SINR) to be servedsimultaneously without being nulled by any overlapping BSS (OBSS) AP inthe beamforming group. The InBSS STAs in FIG. 3 are designated STAsS1-2, S2-2, S3-2, and S4-2.

OBSS STA (the boxes with the thinner lines in FIG. 3) are those STAswhere an OBSS AP transmission may significantly degrade the SINR of theSTA. In accordance with the teachings here, the OBSS STAs may be nulledby at least one OBSS AP. The OBSS STAs in FIG. 3 are designated STAsS1-1, S2-1, S3-1, and S4-1.

In the example of FIG. 3, one STA (the box with thinner lines) in eachBSS is relatively close to three OBSS APs and, hence, may requirenulling from these OBSS APs. For example, STA S1-1 may require nullingfrom the second AP AP2, the third AP AP3, and the fourth AP AP4. Theother STA (the boxes with thicker lines) in the BSS is relatively farfrom the three OBSS APs and, hence, might not require nulling from theseOBSS APs. For example, the STA S1-2 might not needed nulling signalsfrom the second AP AP2, the third AP AP3, and the fourth AP AP4.

In accordance with the teachings herein, in a given coordinatedbeamforming transmission time slot, an AP may serve at least one InBSSSTA and/or at least one OBSS STA. See, for example, the downlinkcoordinated beamforming (DL-COBF) schedule 400 of FIG. 4 which shows DLCOBF transmissions by the first AP AP1, the second AP AP2, the third APAP3, and the fourth AP AP4. Each AP uses X dimensions to serve its Xselected IBSS STAs (X=1 in the example of FIG. 3). Each AP uses itsremaining Y dimensions to serve or null Y selected OBSS STAs (Y=1 in theexample of FIG. 3).

In the DL COBF scheduling of FIG. 3 where each AP has five dimensions,each AP may use two dimensions to serve its two STAs, while using theremaining three dimensions to form three nulls for three OBSS STAsrequiring nulling. For example, the first AP AP1 may serve STAs S1-1 andS1-2 in its BSS, and form three nulls for three OBSS STAs that requirenulling: STA S2-1, S3-1, S4-1.

III. UL Coordinated Beamforming

An UL COBF scheduling example will be discussed with reference to thewireless communication system 500 of FIG. 5. As in the example of FIG.3, each AP (AN, AP2, AP3, and AP4) in FIG. 5 has at least five antennas(five dimensions) and uses two dimensions to simultaneously receive fromits two InBSS STAs in the UL. See, for example, the UL-COBF schedule 600of FIG. 6 which shows UL COBF transmissions by the STAs S1-1, S1-2,S2-1, S2-2, S3-1, S3-2, S4-1, and S4-2.

Each AP may use its remaining three dimensions to null three interferingOBSS STAs in the UL (e.g., OBSS STAs that interfere with reception atthe AP). For example, a first AP AP1 may simultaneously receive fromSTAs S1-1 and S1-2 in its BSS, and null three interfering OBSS STAs inthe UL (e.g., STAs S2-1, S3-1, S4-1). In some aspects, COBFcommunication in accordance with the teachings herein may realize afour-times gain in resource usage as compared to a scheme that usesconventional time-division multiplexing (TDM) among four APs.

IV. Identifying APs and STAs

The disclosure relates in some aspects to addressing the issues thatfollow with respect to identifying APs and STAs to be included in ascheduling decision.

Various criterion could be used to determine DL and UL nulling OBSS APsper STA. The disclosure relates in some aspects to using estimated DLand UL RSSI or SINR per STA to determine the STAs required DL and ULnulling OBSS APs.

Various sequence formats could be used to measure DL and UL RSSI per AP.The disclosure relates in some aspects to measuring DL and UL RSSI perAP based on beacons, a multi-BSS sounding sequence, a new dedicatedsequence, a STA's UL signals, or a combination thereof.

Various entities could make the above determination. In addition,various OTA messages could be used to this end. The disclosure relatesin some aspects to having the determination made by a STA, itsassociated AP, or a 3rd party node (e.g., a cluster leader AP or acentral controller). Required OTA messages can be sent by a STA in anIEEE 802.11 high efficiency (HE) control field of any frame, in framebody of a dedicated frame, or in some other manner.

IV-A. Criterion to Determine DL Nulling OBSS APs per STA

In some aspects, a criterion to determine nulling OBSS APs may includedetermining DL nulling OBSS APs per STA based on estimated DL RSSI orSINR with the following options.

A first option uses RSSI per OBSS AP. The m-th OBSS AP should null theSTA if its caused RSSI at the STA is above a threshold (e.g., −92 dBm).Here, RSSI is measured from the m-th OBSS AP without nulling.

A second option uses SINR with a single AP's interference. The m-th OBSSAP should null the STA if: 1) the STA's SINR (see Equation 1 below)drops at least X dB (e.g., 3 dB); and/or 2) the SINR drops below Y dB(e.g., 20 dB).

SINR_(m) =S/(I _(m) +N)   EQUATION 1

Here, S is the estimated RSSI from the serving AP without nulling, I_(m)is the estimated RSSI from the m-th OBSS AP without or with nulling, andN is noise power.

A third option uses the worst SINR with all of the APs' interference.For example, the worst case may be that all potentially scheduled APsare transmitting in a DL COBF transmission with full power. The APscould be all of the APs in same DL COBF cluster.

The above worst case SINR can be used to determine nulling OBSS APs asset forth in Equation 2.

$\begin{matrix}{{SINR}_{A} = {S\text{/}\left( {{\sum\limits_{m = 1}^{M}\; I_{m}} + N} \right)}} & {{EQUATION}\mspace{14mu} 2}\end{matrix}$

In Equation 2, I_(m) is the estimated RSSI from the m-th OBSS AP with orwithout nulling. The parameters S and N may have same meaning as in thesecond option.

The set of nulling OBSS APs is the smallest set to null the STA suchthat: 1) the worst case SINR_(A) drops less than X dB (e.g., 3 dB);or/and 2) the dropped value is still above Y dB (e.g., 20 dB).

Residual interference with nulling can be estimated by subtracting theoriginal interference by a certain offset (e.g., 30 dB). The residualinterference may be signaled by the network or obtained in some otherway.

IV-B. Criterion to Determine UL Nulling OBSSAPs per STA

The UL nulling OBSS APs per STA or, equivalently, the UL nulled OBSSSTAs per AP can be determined based on the estimated UL RSSI or SINRwith the following options.

A first option uses RSSI per STA. The AP should null the m-th OBSS STAif the STA-caused RSSI at an AP is above a threshold (e.g., −92 dBm).Here, RSSI is measured at the AP without nulling.

A second option uses SINR with a single STA's interference. The APshould null the m-th OBSS STA if: 1) the served STA's SINR at the AP(see Equation 3 below) drops at least X dB (e.g., 3 dB); and/or 2) theSINR drops below Y dB (e.g., 20 dB).

SINR_(m) =S/(I _(m) N)   EQUATION 3

Here, S can be the lowest or average RSSI of all served STAs at the APwithout nulling, I_(m) is the RSSI from the m-th OBSS STA at the APwithout or with nulling, and N is noise power.

A third option uses the worst SINR with all of the STAs' interference.For example, the worst case may be that all potentially scheduled OBSSSTAs are transmitting in an UL COBF transmission. The above worst caseSINR can be used to determine the nulled OBSS STAs at the AP as setforth in Equation 4.

$\begin{matrix}{{SINR}_{A} = {S\text{/}\left( {{\sum\limits_{m = 1}^{M}\; I_{m}} + N} \right)}} & {{EQUATION}\mspace{14mu} 4}\end{matrix}$

In Equation 4, I_(m) is the estimated RSSI of m-th OBSS STA at the APwith or without nulling. The parameters S and N may have same meaning asin the second option. The set of nulled OBSS STAs is the smallest set tobe nulled such that: 1) the worst case SINR_(A) drops less than X dB(e.g., 3 dB); or/and 2) the dropped value is still above Y dB (e.g., 20dB).

IV-C. Methods to Identify DL and UL Nulling OBSS APs per STA

The disclosure relates in some aspects to identifying the DL and ULnulling APs per STA. In some aspects, this may involve one or more ofobtaining inputs for identifying the nulling APs, identifying thenulling APs based on DL signaling, or identifying the nulling APs basedon UL signaling.

IV-C.1. Inputs for Nulling AP Identification

As described in above, an input for identify nulling APs may includeRSSI. Identifying DL nulling APs per STA may be based on all of the APs'DL RSSI at each STA. Identifying UL nulling APs per STA may be based onat least the STA's UL RSSI to all APs. Depending on the particularcriterion used, this identification may also be based on the UL RSSI ofserved STAs per AP.

Therefore, a DL and UL COBF scheduler may determine the DL and UL RSSIbetween all APs and potentially scheduled STAs. Alternatively, thescheduler may determine the identified DL and UL nulling APs per STAdirectly. RSSI inputs or identification results can be provided by eachAP.

Several options for a scheduler to get RSSI inputs or identificationresults per STA will now be described. Initially, options based on DLsignaling will be treated, followed by options based on UL signaling.

IV-C.2. DL Signal Based Identification

DL signal based identification may include the three steps that follow.

In a first step, APs in a cluster send DL measurement signals. The STAsin the cluster measure the DL RSSI per AP based on the received signals.

In a second step, each STA reports its RSSI inputs and/or identificationresults to its associated AP. The results may include the STA's DL andUL nulling AP IDs. Inputs may include the STA's DL and UL RSSI per AP.

UL RSSI can be calculated based on DL RSSI as follows: UL RSSI=STAtransmit power−(AP transmit power−DL RSSI). The AP can indicate itstransmit power in the AP's DL measurement signal.

In a third step, the scheduler collects the STAs' inputs and/or resultswith the options that follow.

In a first option (Option 1), the APs exchange their InBSS STAs' inputsand/or results after receiving their STA reports. In this way, every APcan determine all of the STAs' inputs and/or results when acting asscheduler. This exchange can be triggered by the leader AP.

In a second option (Option 2), before each scheduling, each AP sends theinputs and/or results of its candidate STAs to the scheduler. Each APmay send these inputs and/or results together with other information.

Three DL Signal Based Identification Methods will now be described. Thefirst method is a beacon-based method, the second method is asounding-based method, and the third method is a dedicatedsequence-based method.

IV-C.2.a. Method 1: Beacon Based Method

FIG. 7 illustrates an example of signaling 700 where an AP's beacon maybe used as a DL measurement signal. Each AP may broadcast the offsetbetween its transmit power for the beacon and the DL COBF transmission.The offset could be added to the measured beacon RSSI. The corrected DLRSSI may then be used for DL nulling AP identification. This methodemploys the following steps.

In a first step, each AP sends a measurement request 702 to request aset of InBSS STAs to periodically measure the APs' beacon RSSI (e.g.,once per second per AP). To reduce the complexity of FIG. 7, only one AP(AP1) is shown). The selected InBSS STAs (e.g., STA1 and STA 2) may bethose with DL and/or UL traffic. The AP may indicate the STA'smeasurement period and target beacon transmission time (TBTT) offset permeasured AP in a request.

In the example of FIG. 7, STA1 measures AP1's beacon 704 and measuresAP2's beacon 706. In addition, STA2 measures AP1's beacon 708 andmeasures AP2's beacon 710.

In a second step, each STA reports to its associated AP theidentification results and/or the RSSI inputs to determine the aboveresults (e.g., after receiving the AP's trigger frame 712). In theexample of FIG. 7, STA1 sends a report 714 and STA2 sends a report 716.The identification results may include the STA's DL nulling AP IDs andUL nulling AP IDs. The RSSI inputs may include the STA's DL RSSI per APand UL RSSI per AP.

In a third step, the DL and UL COBF scheduler collects the STAs' inputsand/or results with the following two options.

In a first option (Option 1), the APs exchange their InBSS STAs' inputsand/or results after receiving their respective STA reports. Forexample, AP1 may send the information 718 indicated in FIG. 7. In thisway, every AP knows all of the STAs' inputs and/or results when actingas the scheduler. The exchange can be triggered by a trigger frame sentby the leader AP.

In a second option (Option 2), before each scheduling, each AP sends theinputs and/or results of its candidate STAs to the scheduler. Forexample, AP1 may send the information 718 indicated in FIG. 7. Each APmay send these inputs and/or results together with other information.

IV-C.2.b. Method 2: Sounding Based Method

In a sounding-based method, a STA may measure the DL channel responseper AP in a multi-BSS sounding procedure. Here, the procedure is reusedto determine the STA's nulling AP IDs.

In a first step, in a multi-BSS sounding procedure, a set of STAs acrossBSSs is selected to measure every AP's NDP and send the correspondingBFRP to the AP. Selected STAs may be those with DL and/or UL traffic inthe cluster. Selected STAs may be announced in every AP's NDPA or in asingle aggregated NDPA. See the multi-BSS sounding sequence examples insection V.

In a second step, an AP computes each InBSS STA's DL RSSI per AP and ULRSSI per AP based on the STA's BFRP. The AP may know the AP and STAtransmit power to determine the RSSI. The AP further decides each InBSSSTA's identification results.

The third step is the same as in Method 1

IV-C.2.c. Method 3: Dedicated Sequence Based Method

FIG. 8 illustrates an example of signaling 800 where a dedicatedsequence can be used as a DL measurement signal. The DL measurementsignal could be a new sequence, a simplified sounding sequence (e.g.,where the STA only reports RSSIs from multiple APs), or some other typeof signal. The following sequence is an example for the case of two APs(AP1 and AP2).

In a first step, in every measurement period (e.g., repeated once persecond), both APs send an NDP announcement (NDPA) and an NDPsequentially. In FIG. 8, AP1 sends an NDPA 802 and an NDP 804, while AP2sends an NDPA 806 and an NDP 808. Each AP specifies in the NDPA theInBSS STAs that are to measure the RSSIs of both NDPs. The selectedInBSS STAs may be those with DL traffic and/or UL traffic.

In a second step, both APs send a TF to collect measured DL RSSI and ULRSSI from their STAs. In FIG. 8, AP1 sends TF1 810 and receives RSSIreports 812 from the STAs in BSS1. while AP2 sends TF2 814 and receivesRSSI reports 816 from the STAs in BSS2. Each AP further determines DLnulling AP IDs per STA and UL nulling AP IDs per STA.

The third step is the same as in Method 1. In FIG. 8, AP1 sends results818, while AP2 sends results 820.

IV-C.3. UL Signal Based Identification

UL signal based identification may include the following steps.

In a first step, STAs in a cluster send UL measurement signals. Each APmeasures UL RSSI between it and every STA based on the received signals.

Each AP may also derive DL RSSI between it and every STA based on ULRSSI. This derivation may use the following formula: DL RSSI=AP transmitpower−(STA transmit power−UL RSSI). A STA can indicate its transmitpower in the STA's UL measurement signal.

In a second step, the APs exchange their DL RSSI for every STA and ULRSSI for every STA. In this way, each AP will know all of the APs' DLRSSI per STA and UL RSSI per STA. Based on the above RSSI inputs, everyAP knows all of the STAs' identification results when acting asscheduler.

IV-C-3.a. Options for UL signal:

In a first option (Option 1) for UL signaling, each AP sends a block ACKrequest (BAR) to solicit a block ACK (BA) from each selected InBSS STA.BAR/BA can be sent in other frame types (e.g., RTS/CTS, TF/Response,etc.). The TF can indicate the response type (e.g., BSR, BQR, BA, CTS,NDP, etc.). A cluster leader AP may send a TF to poll each AP in clusterto initiate the BAR/BA sequence. This process is performed repeatedly(e.g., every second).

FIG. 9 illustrates an example of signaling 900 for Option 1 for one BSS(BSS1). Initially, a cluster leader AP sends a TF 902. AP1 sends a BAR904 to STA-1 and STA-1 sends a BA 906 in response. AP1 sends a BAR 908to STA-2 and STA-2 sends a BA 910 in response. This process continuesfor all N STAs in the BSS. Thus, eventually, AP1 sends a BAR 912 toSTA-N and STA-N sends a BA 914 in response.

In a second option (Option 2) for UL signaling, each AP sends a TF tosolicit responses from multiple InBSS STAs. A TF can indicate a responsetype (e.g., BSR, BQR, BA, CTS, NDP, etc.). A TF can allocate resourcesper STA (e.g., different sub-bands, time slots, spatial streams).

FIG. 10 illustrates an example of signaling 1000 for Option 2 for oneBSS (BSS1). Initially, a cluster leader AP sends a TF 1002. AP1 sends aTF 1004 to a first set of STAs (STA-1-STA-X). Each of these STAs sends aresponse as represented by response 1006 to response 1008. This processcontinues for all N STAs in the BSS. In the example of FIG. 10, AP1sends a TF 1010 to a second set of STAs (STA-X+1-STA-N). Each of theseSTAs sends a response as represented by response 1012 to response 1014.

IV-D. Options for Nulling AP Identifier and Required Signaling

Various entities could be used to identify a nulling AP. The followingdescribes options where the identifier is a STA, an AP, or a 3^(rd)Party Node.

IV-D-1. STA is the Identifier

In a first option, a STA determines the nulling APs per STA. Forexample, a STA may identify its nulling APs based on the STA's measuredDL RSSI for all APs and UL RSSI for all APs.

In this case, the STA sends its DL and UL nulling AP IDs to the STA'sassociated AP, which may then forward this information to a potential DLand UL COBF scheduler (e.g., other APs). The STA can report the list inthe HE control field of any frame, in the frame body of a dedicatedframe, or in some other manner. The report may have different reportingtypes including, for example, polled by an AP, periodic reporting, orevent triggered reporting (e.g., report only when the list changes).

An AP may send the following information to aid the STA's decision:RSSI, SINR threshold, report type, or any combination thereof.

Two potential correction factors follow. An offset between AP totaltransmit power for the beacon and for the DL COBF transmission may beused if the DL RSSI is estimated from a beacon. An offset to estimateresidual interference after nulling from original interference (e.g.,how much to subtract) could also be used.

IV-D-2. AP is the Identifier

In a second option, the nulling APs per STA is determined by a APassociated with the STA. Here, the STA sends back inputs (e.g., DL RSSIand UL RSSI) for all APs. The AP determines the STA's DL nulling AP listand UL nulling AP list, and may forward it to a potential DL and UL COBFscheduler (e.g., other APs).

The following signaling may be used. A STA can send back the aboveestimates in the HE control field of any frame, in a frame body of adedicated frame, or in some other manner Estimates may have differentreporting types including, for example, polled by AP, periodic, or eventtriggered (e.g., report only if any estimate changes).

IV-D-3. 3^(rd) Party Node is the Identifier

In a third option, a third party node (not a STA or its associated AP)determines the nulling APs per STA. A 3rd party node can be a leader APin COBF cluster, a central controller connected to all APs via backhaul,or another type of node. A STA sends to its associated AP the estimatedRSSI inputs, which then forwards this information to the 3rd party node.The 3rd party node then decides the DL nulling APs per STA and ULnulling APs per STA. If the 3^(rd) party node is not the scheduler, the3^(rd) party node forwards the decision to the DL and UL COBF scheduler.The signaling may be similar to option 2.

V. Input Collection to Schedule Sounding for DL Coordinated BeamformingTransmission

To null OBSS STAs in a DL COBF transmission, an AP first determines theDL channel information for the STAs. The channel may be estimated byperforming a sounding procedure. Two examples of Multi-BSS SoundingSequences for DL COBF follow.

Referring to the wireless communication system 1102 and the signaling1104 of FIG. 11, in a first DL COBF sounding example, each AP sends anNDPA 1106, an NDP 1108, and a TF 1110 (e.g., an aggregated trigger) toask InBSS STAs and OBSS STAs requiring nulling from the AP to measureNDP and send a BFRP. In the example of FIG. 11, STA S1 sends a report1112, STA S2 sends a report 1114, STA S4 sends a report 1116, STA S6sends a report 1118, and STA S8 sends a report 1120. This sequence isperformed for each BSS. Each AP sends NDP-A, followed by NDP as in thebaseline case, except as follows: 1) an AP is able to sound OBSS STAs(e.g., using UL OFDMA from STAs); 2) STAs will monitor NDPAs, NDPs, andTriggers sent from an OBSS AP; and 3) a STA sends a beamforming reportinformation to an OBSS AP.

FIG. 12 illustrates wireless communication signaling 1202 of a second DLCOBF sounding example (e.g., which may be used by the wirelesscommunication system 1102). Here, the primary AP sends an NDPA, whileeach AP in the cluster sends an NDP and TF to ask InBSS STAs and OBSSSTAs requiring nulling from the AP to measure its NDP and send a BFRP.In FIG. 12, the primary AP sends an NDP-A 1202 (e.g., an aggregatedNDPA), followed by an NDP 1204 from AP-1, an NDP 1206 from AP-2, an NDP1208 from AP-3, and an NDP 1210 from AP-4. Each AP sends a TF to pollInBSS STAs and OBSS STAs requiring nulling from the AP to send BFRP.FIG. 12 show this step for APE Here, AP1 sends a TF 1212 (e.g., anaggregated trigger) and, in response, STA S1 sends a report 1214, STA S2sends a report 1216, STA S4 sends a report 1218, STA S6 sends a report1220, and STA S8 sends a report 1222.

A sounding scheduler may decide: 1) which InBSS STAs and OBSS STAsshould measure an AP's NDP; 2) the STA's BFRP configurations; and 3)each AP's NDP configurations (e.g., BW, maximum number of streams,etc.). A scheduler can be any node (e.g., an AP participating in DL COBFtransmission or leading a DL COBF cluster, a central controllerconnected to all APs via a backhaul, or some other node).

The disclosure relates in some aspects to techniques for a scheduler tosignal the scheduling decision to each participating AP, as well as thecontents of the decision (the schedule). This enables each AP toannounce the decision in its NDPA if needed, configure its NDPaccordingly, and trigger corresponding STAs to send a BFRP.

In some aspects, a node signals a scheduling decision in a frame at thebeginning of sounding (e.g., in a “multi-BSS sounding scheduling” frame,or in an aggregated NDPA). The scheduling decision may includeparticipating AP IDs and their NDP order, the IDs of STAs required tomeasure each AP's NDP, their BFRP configuration, and the AP's NDPconfiguration. The frame sender can be the scheduler. Otherwise, thescheduler will pass the scheduling decision to the frame sender.

The disclosure relates in some aspects to the acquisition of certaininformation to make the above decision, as well as techniques for thescheduler to collect this information. In some cases, it may bebeneficial to determine the smallest set of STAs to measure and report(e.g., because the BFRP size may be large for a large number of STAs,BWs) or streams).

In some aspects, a scheduler may collect sounding candidate STAinformation per BSS with the following methods.

A first method involves an OTA explicit inquiry. Prior to soundingscheduling, the scheduler explicitly inquires each AP.

A second method involves OTA autonomous advertisement. Each APautonomously advertises its input in transmitted frames.

A third method involves a mix of method 1 and 2. For example, ascheduler might inquire only when it has not received an advertisement.

A further method uses a wired backhaul. Here, a scheduler may collectsounding scheduling information from all APs via a wired backhaul.

V-A. Signaling of DL COBF Sounding Scheduling Decision

The following operations may be used to signal a sounding schedulingdecision.

V-A-1. Contents of the Sounding Decision

A scheduler may generate the following decision information for soundingscheduling. Other examples are possible.

The decision may include the IDs of the AP participating in thesounding. Also, the order to send NDPs may be specified.

For each of the above APs, the decision may include the IDs of STAsrequired to measure the AP's NDP, the BFRP configurations per measuringSTA, and the AP's NDP configurations.

The IDs of STAs required to measure the AP's NDP may include the AP'sInBSS STAs, and the AP's OBSS STAs requiring nulling from the AP. The APwill later trigger them to report BFRP.

The BFRP configurations per measuring STA may include, for example, tonegrouping number and codebook size.

The AP's NDP configurations may include, for example, NDP bandwidth andthe maximum number of sounding streams.

The above decision may be signaled to each participating AP. In thisway, each AP may announce the decision in its NDPA if needed, configureits NDP accordingly, and trigger corresponding STAs to send a BFRP.

V-A-2. Case 1: Each AP Sends its Own NDPA in the Sounding Sequence (Seq.Example 1

Referring to the signaling 1300 of FIG. 13, a scheduling decision can besent in a “multi-BSS sounding scheduling” frame 1302 at the beginning ofa sounding sequence. Each AP then sends an NDPA, an NDP, and a TF to asits STAs for BFRPs. Each AP can know its NDP transmission order and fillits NDPA with the related decision (e.g., IDs of STAs requiring tomeasure the AP's NDP, and BFRP configurations per measuring STA).

FIG. 13 illustrates the per BSS sequence for one BSS. AP1 sends an NDPA1304, an NDP 1306, and a TF 1308 (e.g., an aggregated trigger). Inresponse, STA S1 sends a report 1310, STA S2 sends a report 1312, STA S4sends a report 1314, STA S6 sends a report 1316, and STA S8 sends areport 1318.

The scheduling frame sender can be the node initiating the soundingsequence. The scheduler may pass the decision to the scheduling framesender if the scheduler is not the sender. The scheduling frame can bemerged into AP1's NDPA if the two senders are the same.

V-A-3. Case 2: One AP sends a single aggregated NDPA (seq. example 2)

Referring to the signaling 1400 of FIG. 14, a scheduling decision can besent in an aggregated NDPA at the beginning of a sounding sequence. Allparticipating APs and STAs will take actions based on the decision. Thescheduler may pass the decision to the aggregated NDPA sender if thescheduler is not the sender. Alternatively, the scheduling decision canbe sent in a separate frame before the aggregated NDPA.

In FIG. 14, one AP sends an NDP-A 1402 (e.g., an aggregated NDPA with asounding schedule), followed by an NDP 1404 from AP-1, an NDP 1406 fromAP-2, an NDP 1408 from AP-3, and an NDP 1410 from AP-4. Each AP sends aTF to request STAs to send BFRP. FIG. 14 show this step for APE Here,AP1 sends a TF 1412 (e.g., an aggregated trigger) and, in response, STAS1 sends a report 1414, STA S2 sends a report 1416, STA S4 sends areport 1418, STA S6 sends a report 1420, and STA S8 sends a report 1422.

V-A-4. Case 3: One AP Sends Sounding Trigger and Scheduling Frame toInitiate UL Sounding Signal Per BSS

Referring to the signaling 1500 FIG. 15, a scheduling decision can besent in a sounding trigger and scheduling frame at the beginning of anUL sounding, per BSS. The AP of the scheduled BSS (e.g., AP1 in theexample of FIG. 15) will send individual NDP TFs to trigger scheduledInBSS STAs to send NDPs, which will be measured by all APs. Each AP willhave channel state information from all sounded STAs across BSSs at theend of this process. The sounding sequence may be simplified by sendinga single aggregated sounding TF and scheduling frame for all BSSs at thebeginning, and/or each scheduled AP only sends a single NDP TF at thebeginning.

In the example of FIG. 15, a cluster leader AP sends a sounding triggerand scheduling frame for BSS1 1502. AP1 of BSS1 sends a TF 1504 totrigger STA-1 to send an NDP 1506. AP1 sends a TF 1508 to trigger STA-2to send an NDP 1510. This is repeated for all N STAs in BSS1. Thus,eventually, AP1 sends a TF 1512 to trigger STA-N to send an NDP 1514.

V-B. Input Collection for DL COBF Sounding Scheduling

The following input collection operations may be used for soundingscheduling. The particular sounding scheduling inputs used may depend onscheduling criterion, for example, as listed below.

A first criterion (Criterion 1) involves sounding all STAs in a cluster.All STAs in any BSS of the cluster will measure every AP's NDP and sendBFRP to the AP.

A second criterion (Criterion 2) involves STAs with DL data. The aboveSTAs that have DL data (e.g., STAs that are scheduled to receive DLdata) will measure every AP's NDP and send a BFRP to the AP.

A third criterion (Criterion 3) involves STAs with DL data that requirenulling. The above STAs that also require nulling from an AP willmeasure the AP's NDP and send a BFRP to the AP.

V-A-1. Inputs for Sounding Scheduling

Depending on the applicable criterion, a scheduler may acquire thefollowing information to make decision.

In some aspects, the inputs may include the STA IDs per BSS that arepotentially DL COBF receivers. These STAs will support DL COBF receptionand typically would have DL data (e.g., scheduled). They can beidentified by their associated AP or by the STAs themselves. There is noneed to check a “Have DL data” parameter if Criterion 1 above is used.

The inputs may also include, for each of the above STAs, the OBSS AP IDsif nulling is required from those APs (e.g., to determine which OBSSSTAs should measure each AP's NDP). This input is not needed ifCriterion 1 or 2 is used. Instead of receiving explicit “nulling APIDs,” previously measured DL channel information from all APs to STA canbe used as an input for the scheduler to decide “nulling AP IDs”.

The inputs may also include, for each of the above STAs, capabilityinformation for DL COBF sounding (e.g., to determine a STA's reportconfiguration and an AP's NDP configuration). The capability informationmay include supported tone grouping sizes in the report (e.g., Ng=16),supported codebook sizes (quantization granularity) in the report, andthe maximum number of sounding streams per supported NDP BW (todetermine an AP's NDP configuration, e.g., BW and the maximum number ofsounding streams).

A sounding scheduler may collect the previously described inputinformation using the following methods.

V-B-2. Method 1: OTA explicit inquiry

FIG. 16 illustrates signaling 1600 for a first method. Prior to soundingscheduling, the scheduler (AP1 in this example) sends an inquiry frame1602 to solicit input from participating APs (AP2, AP3, and AP4 in thisexample). The inquiry frame 1602 also indicates the resource (e.g.,different sub-bands, spatial streams, time slots) per AP response.

Each inquired AP responds with the input of its BSS (as listed before).In FIG. 16, AP2 responds with the input of BSS2 1604, AP3 responds withthe input of BSS3 1606, and AP4 responds with the input of BSS4 1608.The scheduler reports the scheduling decision to the NDPA sender (alsoAP1 in the example), which initiates sounding sequence (e.g., asdiscussed above). For example, AP1 may send an aggregated NDPA 1610,after which AP1 sends DNP1 1612, AP2 sends DNP2 1614, AP3 sends DNP31616, and AP4 sends DNP4 1618. AP1 sends a TF 1620 and the STAsmeasuring NDP 1 send their BFRPs 1622. This is performed for all NDPs(e.g., AP4 sends a TF 1624 and the STAs measuring NDP 4 send their BFRPs1626, etc.).

In an alternate implementation depicted by the signaling 1700 of FIG.17, instead of inquiring each AP for the potential STAs that are DL COBFreceivers, the scheduler (AP1 in this example) may poll potential STAsin participating BSSs for their per-STA information. For example, AP1may send an inquiry 1702 for sounding scheduling input in an UL OFDMArandom access trigger frame. Potential STAs may then respond with theirper-STA information 1704 (an ID, OBSS AP IDs for nulling, and soundingcapability) via a random access procedure (e.g., similar to IEEE802.11ax).

V-B-3. Method 2: OTA Autonomous Advertisement

Referring to the signaling 1800 of FIG. 18, each AP may advertise theinputs of its BSS in transmitted frames. For example, this informationmay be sent in a PHY preamble, such as in new fields in SIG-A, SIG-B, ora new SIG-C. As another example, this information may be sent in a MACheader, such as in a new HE control field. In a DL MU PPDU, a new HEcontrol field can be multicast to other APs in the same cluster on adedicated resource unit (with RA as the cluster ID). As yet anotherexample, the information could be sent in new information element (IE),sent in a management/action frame body, such as beacons.

The scheduler (AP1 in the example of FIG. 18) decides the schedulingbased on the latest advertisement per participating AP. The schedulerthen reports the scheduling decision to the NDPA sender (also AP1 in theexample).

An AP may signal in a PHY preamble that the frame carries candidate STAinformation. In this way, OBSS APs will not drop the frame for reuse.

In FIG. 18, AP3 sends the input of BSS3 1802, AP1 sends the input ofBSS1 1804, AP2 sends the input of BSS2 1806, and AP4 sends the input ofBSS4 1808. AP1 may then send an aggregated NDPA 1680, after which AP1sends DNP1 1812, AP2 sends DNP2 1814, AP3 sends DNP3 1816, and AP4 sendsDNP4 1818.

In an alternate implementation depicted by the signaling 1900 of FIG.19, STAs that are potential DL COBF receivers can advertise theirper-STA information in transmitted frames 1902-1904. Informationlocations in the frame can be similar to the above AP advertisementscenario. A scheduler (AP1 in this example) decides scheduling based onlatest advertisement from advertising STAs, and reports its schedulingdecision to the sends of the NDPA 1906 (also AP1 in the example).

V-B-4. Method 3: Mix of Methods 1 and 2

A scheduler may inquire of participating APs only when the scheduler hasnot received its advertisement recently (e.g., in the last 50 ms). Thispotentially saves inquiry overhead.

V-B-5. Method 4: Wired Backhaul Based

A scheduler may collect sounding scheduling input from all participatingAPs via a wired backhaul. These APs can be in the same DL COBF cluster.

V-B-6. Dedicated Resource for Scheduling

In OTA Methods 1-3, scheduling-related information may be sent overdedicated resources different from the DL COBF transmission resources(e.g., in different time slots, frequency channels, and/or spatialstreams). Scheduling-related information may include explicit inquiryand response frames for potential sounded STA information, autonomousadvertisement frames for potential sounded STA information, and framescarrying a DL COBF sounding scheduling decision. For example, when ascheduler is not the NDPA sender, the scheduler can send a decision tothe NDPA sender via those frames.

As a specific example, advertisement frames can be sent in periodic timewindows on a common management channel (e.g., a channel in a 900 MHzband or a 2.4 GHz band).

V-B-7. Limit on reported number of STAs

To save overhead, there may be limit on the reported or advertisednumber of candidate STAs to be in-sounding in Methods 1-4. In Method 1,the limit can be specified by the inquiring AP in an inquiry frame. InMethod 2, the limit can be specified by the cluster leader AP. In Method4, the limit can be specified by a central controller.

The limit can include the total reported/advertised number of candidateSTAs per AP. The limit could also include the total maximum number ofsupported streams of reported/advertised candidate STA # per AP. Theabove metrics can be for the total candidate STAs, the total candidateSTAs requiring nulling, or the total candidate STAs not requiringnulling.

VI. DL Coordinated Beamforming Transmission Scheduling Signaling andInput Collection

A scheduling decision may be made by one node in some scenarios (e.g.,an AP participating in a DL COBF transmission or leading a DL COBFcluster, or a central controller connected to all the APs via abackhaul). The scheduler ensures that each participating AP hassufficient dimensions to serve the selected InBSS STAs and null theselected OBSS STAs requiring nulling.

The disclosure relates in some aspects to techniques for the schedulerto signal the decision to each participating AP, and the contents of thedecision. In this way, each AP knows which InBSS STAs to serve and whichOBSS STAs to null in the DL COBF transmission.

A node may signal a scheduling decision in a frame before a DL COBFtransmission (e.g., a trigger frame to trigger a DL COBF transmission).A scheduling decision may include each scheduled STA ID, thecorresponding number of streams, the OBSS AP IDs if nulling is needed,and the resources for the UL ACK. The frame sending node can be thescheduler. Otherwise, the scheduler will pass the scheduling decision tothe frame sending node.

The disclosure relates in some aspects to techniques for determiningwhich inputs to use for the above scheduling, and how the scheduler cancollect them. Here, the scheduler determines which DL COBF capable STAsper BSS have DL data (e.g., scheduled) and their urgency at that moment.

A scheduler may collect inputs about candidate STAs per BSS using thefollowing four methods.

A first method (Method 1) involves an OTA explicit inquiry. Thescheduler explicitly queries each AP for the inputs for the AP's BSSprior to COBF transmission.

A second method (Method 2) involves an OTA autonomous advertisement. Thescheduler knows the inputs from a previous advertisement per AP.

A third method (Method 3) is a mix of Method 1 and Method 2. Thescheduler inquires only when it is not receiving advertisements.

A fourth method (Method 4) uses a wired backhaul. The scheduler collectsinputs from all APs via a wired backhaul.

VI-A. Signaling of DL COBF Scheduling Decision

The following operations may be used to signal a DL COBF schedulingdecision.

VI-A-1. Frame for Sending a DL COBF Scheduling Decision

Referring to the signaling 2000 of FIG. 20, a cluster leader AP or anyAP can send a “Multi-AP trigger” to initiate a DL COBF transmission. Inthe example of FIG. 20, an AP sends a “Multi-AP trigger” 2002 thattriggers a DL COBF transmission 2004 from AP1, a DL COBF transmission2006 from AP2, a DL COBF transmission 2008 from AP3, and a DL COBFtransmission 2010 from AP4. STAs in the cluster respond to these DL COBFtransmissions with UL ACKs 2012.

The scheduling decision can be sent in a trigger frame if the scheduleris also the node sending the trigger. Otherwise, the scheduler may passthe scheduling decision to the triggering node.

Alternatively, the scheduling decision can be sent in a separate framebefore or after the trigger frame. The scheduler may pass the schedulingdecision to the frame sender in this case.

VI-A-2. Scheduling Signaling for a Sequence of DL COBF Transmission

Referring to the signaling 2100 of FIG. 21, an initiating node may holda long TXOP for a sequence of DL COBF transmissions. The schedulingdecision per transmission can be signaled in the following options. In afirst option, decisions for all transmission are signaled in a masterframe (e.g., the 1st multi-AP TF). In a second option, the decision pertransmission is signaled in multi-AP TF prior to the DL COBFtransmission. In addition, the 1st TF may indicate the STA IDspotentially scheduled in following transmissions.

FIG. 21 illustrates an example of the first option where a master frame2102 (e.g., a multi-AP TF with scheduling for all transmissions)triggers a DL COBF transmission 2104 from AP1, a DL COBF transmission2106 from AP2, a DL COBF transmission 2108 from AP3, and a DL COBFtransmission 2110 from AP4. Scheduled STAs in the cluster respond tothese DL COBF transmissions with UL ACKs 2112.

FIG. 21 also illustrates an example of the second option where a triggerframe 2114 (e.g., a multi-AP TF with scheduling for the nexttransmission) triggers a DL COBF transmission 2116 from AP1, a DL COBFtransmission 2118 from AP2, a DL COBF transmission 2120 from AP3, and aDL COBF transmission 2122 from AP4. Scheduled STAs in the clusterrespond to these DL COBF transmissions with UL ACKs 2124.

Referring to the signaling 2200 of FIG. 22, in a scenario with multipleDL COBF transmissions per TXOP, the sequence may be simplified byignoring the following multi-AP TFs. Alternatively, or in addition, theSTA UL ACK may be replaced by a delayed ACK (e.g., that is solicited bythe AP at a later time).

In FIG. 22, a master frame 2202 (e.g., a multi-AP TF with scheduling forall transmissions) triggers a DL COBF transmission 2204 from AN, a DLCOBF transmission 2206 from AP2, a DL COBF transmission 2208 from AP3,and a DL COBF transmission 2210 from AP4. Scheduled STAs in the clusterrespond to these DL COBF transmissions with UL ACKs 2212. The masterframe 2202 also triggers a DL COBF transmission 2214 from AP1, a DL COBFtransmission 2216 from AP2, a DL COBF transmission 2218 from AP3, a DLCOBF transmission 2220 from AP4, and so on.

VI-A-3. Contents of the DL COBF Scheduling Decision

A scheduling decision may include scheduling information for datatransmission and scheduling information for UL ACK transmission.

Scheduling information for data transmission may include scheduled STAIDs per BSS. In addition, this information may include, for each of theabove STAs, a start stream index, the number of streams, the modulationand coding scheme (MCS), and the OBSS AP IDs if nulling is required fromthem. Or equivalently, the information may include the OBSS APs notrequired for nulling, e.g., in a cluster. The information could alsoinclude the total duration and bandwidth of the DL COBF transmission.

Scheduling information for UL ACK transmission may include, for eachscheduled STA, the STA ID and ACK resource information (e.g., startstream index, number of streams, time slot, sub-band, and MCS).

VI-A-4. AP/STA Actions After Receiving Decision

After receiving a scheduling decision, each AP participating in a DLCOBF transmission may take the following action. The AP may perform a DLCOBF transmission for scheduled InBSS STAs while forming nulls to OBSSSTAs requiring nulling from the AP. The AP may also pass UL ACKscheduling information to each scheduled InBSS STA via a DL COBFtransmission. For example, this information may be sent in an HE controlfield in a data frame or a separate trigger frame addressed to eachscheduled STA (e.g., an NDP short frame).

After receiving a DL COBF transmission, each STA may send an UL ACKbased on the indicated UL ACK scheduling information.

VI-B. Input Collection for DL COBF Scheduling

The following input collection operations may be used for DL COBFscheduling. As described before, the scheduler collects candidate STAinformation per BSS to scheduled STAs across BSSs for each DL COBFtransmission.

VI-B-1. Method 1: OTA explicit inquiry

Referring to the signaling 2300 of FIG. 23, after obtaining atransmission opportunity (TXOP), a scheduler (AP1 in the example of FIG.23) sends an inquiry frame 2302 to solicit candidate STA informationfrom a set of APs. The inquiry frame also indicates the resources per APresponse, e.g., different sub-bands, spatial streams, time slots, etc.

Each AP responds with candidate STA information of its BSS. In FIG. 23,AP2 responds with the candidate STA information of BSS2 2304, AP3responds with the candidate STA information of BSS3 2306, and AP4responds with the candidate STA information of BSS4 2308.

The scheduler sends a TF 2310 with the scheduling decision based oncollected inputs. AP1 sends DL COBF transmission 2312, AP2 sends DL COBFtransmission 2314, AP3 sends DL COBF transmission 2316, and AP4 sends DLCOBF transmission 2318. The scheduled STAs send their UL ACKs 2320.

VI-B-2. Method 2: OTA autonomous advertisement.

Referring to the signaling 2400 of FIG. 24, each AP advertises candidateSTA information in its transmitted frames (the AP may signal in a PHYpreamble that the frame carries candidate STA information, so the OBSSAPs will not drop the frame for reuse). For example, the information maybe advertised in a PHY preamble, such as in new fields in SIG-A, SIG-B,or a new SIG-C. The information may be advertised in a MAC header, suchas a new HE control field, e.g., in an AP's TF. In a DL MU PPDU, a newHE control field can be multicast to other APs in the same cluster on adedicated resource unit, with RA as the cluster ID. The informationcould also be sent in a new IE, or sent in a management/action framebody, such as beacons.

In FIG. 24, AP3 sends the candidate STA information of BSS3 2402, AP1sends the candidate STA information of BSS1 2404, AP2 sends thecandidate STA information of BSS2 2406, and AP4 sends the candidate STAinformation of BSS4 2408.

After obtaining a TXOP, the scheduler (AP1 in the example of FIG. 24)determines the scheduling based on the latest advertisement per AP, andsends out a TF 2410. AP1 sends DL COBF transmission 2412, AP2 sends DLCOBF transmission 2414, AP3 sends DL COBF transmission 2416, and AP4sends DL COBF transmission 2418.

VI-B-3. Method 3: OTA autonomous advertisement at predefined times

Method 3 is similar to Method 2, however, there are defined time periodswhere APs can publish this information as shown, for example, in FIG.25. The scheduling AP will be listening during the ‘advertisement’periods to gather information from other APs. The schedule may beadvertised by the scheduler towards the end of each advertisement timeperiod. In some systems, the schedule will hold true until the nextadvertisement time period.

In FIG. 25, AP1 sends the candidate STA information of BSS1 2502, AP2sends the candidate STA information of BSS2 2504, AP3 sends thecandidate STA information of BSS3 2506, and AP4 sends the candidate STAinformation of BSS4 2508 during a first time period. AP1 sends out a TF2510, after which AP1 sends DL COBF transmission 2512, AP2 sends DL COBFtransmission 2514, AP3 sends DL COBF transmission 2516, and AP4 sends DLCOBF transmission 2518. Subsequently, AP1 sends the candidate STAinformation of BSS1 2520, AP2 sends the candidate STA information ofBSS2 2522, AP3 sends the candidate STA information of BSS3 2524, and AP4sends the candidate STA information of BSS4 2526 during a second timeperiod.

VI-B-4. Method 3: Mix of Method 1 and 2

The scheduler inquires the AP only when the scheduler has not receivedits advertisement recently, e.g., in the last 50 ms. This may saveinquiry overhead.

VI-B-5. Method 4: Wired backhaul based

The scheduler collects candidate STA information from all of the APs viaa wired backhaul. These APs can be in same DL COBF cluster.

VI-B-6. Dedicated Resource for Scheduling Related Information

In OTA Methods 1-3, the scheduling related information may be sent overdedicated resources that are different from the DL COBF transmissionresources (e.g., different time slots, frequency channels, and/orspatial streams). The scheduling related information may includeexplicit inquiry and response frames for candidate user information,autonomous advertisement frames for candidate user information, framescarrying DL COBF transmission scheduling decision, and frames triggeringmulti-AP DL COBF transmission. The information could be sent in achannel different from the DL COBF transmission.

As a specific example, advertisement frames can be sent in periodic timewindows on a common management channel, e.g., a channel in 900 MHz or2.4 GHz band.

VI-B-7. Contents of Candidate STA Information

The candidate STA information sent by AP may contain, for example, STAinformation for data transmission and STA information for UL ACKtransmission.

The STA information for data transmission may include candidate STA IDsin the AP's BSS. Typically, these STAs would support DL COBF Rx and haveDL data at this moment. The information may also include, for eachcandidate STA, DL COBF receive capability (e.g., max stream # persupported BW, support partial BW or not), required DL data resources(e.g., transmission duration for a reference BW and stream #, or amountof buffered data+MCS), OBSS AP IDs if nulling is required from them(considered APs could be those in same cluster), scheduling prioritymetrics (e.g., highest access category, longest waiting time, latencyrequirement, proportional fair metric (ratio of instant rate to averagerate), of buffered DL data), and inputs to check the DL RSSI difference(as specified below).

The STA information for an UL ACK transmission may include, for eachcandidate STA, UL ACK transmission capability, required UL ACK resources(similar to the above for the DL COBF data transmission), and MCS.

VI-B-8. Inputs for DL RSSI Difference Check

The following check ensures that participating APs across BSSs canmutually satisfy maximum a tolerable RSSI difference requirement attheir scheduled STAs. For every participating STA, each OBSS AP's RSSIat a STA (without nulling) should be less than or equal to the maximumtolerable RSSI at the STA. Alternatively, the condition “each OBSS AP's”may be replaced by “the sum of the OBSS APs′.”

The above check may use the following inputs per candidate STA.

A first input (Input 1) is the maximum tolerable RSSI at a STA. This isequal to the STA's own AP's RSSI for the STA plus the maximum tolerableRSSI difference. An AP's RSSI for a STA is equal to the AP's allocatedtransmit power for the STA minus their PL.

A second input (Input 2) is every AP's RSSI at a STA. This RSSI is equalto the AP's total transmit power minus the corresponding PL. Both inputscan be replaced by other similar forms, e.g., variables to compute theinputs.

VI-B-9. Additional Inputs

A scheduler may ensure that DL COBF scheduling meets the followingfeasibility requirement. For each AP joining the DL COBF transmission,the total dimensions for nulling+its dimensions serving InBSS STAs<=itstotal available dimensions for DL COBF.

To check the above requirement, the scheduler may determine that totalavailable dimensions for the DL COBF per AP. This information can beacquired via OTA messages. For example, each AP can signal its totaldimensions for DL COBF in transmitted frames, e.g., in a new “DL COBFcapability” information element (IE) in beacons, or sent together withcandidate STA information.

VI-B-10. Limit on reported number of STAs

To save overhead, there may be limit on the reported or advertisednumber of candidate STAs in the just-described Methods 1-4. In Method 1,the limit can be specified by the inquiring AP in an inquiry frame. InMethod 2, the limit can be specified by the cluster leader AP. In Method4, the limit can be specified by a central controller.

The limit can have the following forms: total reported/advertisedcandidate STA number per AP; and total maximum number of supportedstreams of reported/advertised candidate STA number per AP. The abovemetrics can be for the total candidate STAs, the total candidate STAsrequiring nulling, or the total candidate STAs not requiring nulling.

VI-B-11. Cascaded Scheduling

An example of cascaded scheduling is shown in the signaling 2600 of FIG.26. As noted above, the previous methods describe scenarios where onescheduler makes the scheduling decision. In other implementations, thescheduling decision can be made by all APs in a distributed way. Afterobtaining a TXOP, an initiating node (AP1 in the example of FIG. 26)sends a frame 2602 with a scheduling decision for its own InBSS STAs.The frame indicates the order for the OBSS APs to respond with adecision for their InBSS STAs. The frame also indicates orthogonalpartitions of remaining resources among the OBSS APs for both the DLCOBF transmission and the UL ACK (e.g., AP2-AP4 use the remainingdimensions 3-4, 5-6, and 7-8 for their InBSS STAs, respectively).

Each AP responds in an assigned order with a scheduling decision for itsown InBSS STAs within an assigned resource range. In FIG. 26, AP2 sendits scheduling decision 2604, followed by AP3 sending its schedulingdecision 2606, followed by AP4 sending its scheduling decision 2608.Thus, each AP knows the other APs' decisions.

The last AP's response (AP4 in this example) also triggers the multi-APDL COBF transmission. AP1 sends DL COBF transmission 2610, AP2 sends DLCOBF transmission 2612, AP3 sends DL COBF transmission 2614, and AP4sends DL COBF transmission 2616. The scheduled STAs send their UL ACKs2618.

VII. UL Coordinated Beamforming Receive Scheduling Signaling and InputCollection

For the UL, a scheduling decision may be made by one node in somescenarios (e.g., an AP participating in an UL COBF reception or leadingan UL COBF cluster, or a central controller connected to all the APs viaa backhaul). The scheduling node ensures that each participating AP hassufficient dimensions to serve the selected InBSS STAs and null theselected OBSS STAs requiring nulling in the UL.

The disclosure relates in some aspects to techniques for the schedulingnode to signal the decision to each participating AP, and the contentsof the decision. In this way, each AP knows which InBSS STAs to serveand which OBSS STAs to null in the UL COBF reception.

A node may signal a scheduling decision in a frame before an UL COBFreception (e.g., a scheduling frame prior to an AP TFs and UL COBFtransmission). A scheduling decision may include each scheduled STA ID,the corresponding number of streams, the OBSS AP IDs if nulling isneeded, and the resources for the DL ACK per AP. The decision can alsoinclude resource allocation per AP's TF to trigger its STA'stransmission. The frame sending node can be the scheduling node.Otherwise, the scheduling node may pass the scheduling decision to theframe sending node.

The disclosure relates in some aspects to techniques for determiningwhich inputs to use for the above scheduling, and how the schedulingnode can collect them. Here, the scheduling node may determine which ULCOBF capable STAs per BSS have UL data and their urgency at that moment.

A scheduling node may collect inputs about candidate STAs per BSS usingthe following four methods.

A first method (Method 1) involves an OTA explicit inquiry. Thescheduling node explicitly queries each AP or individual STAs directly.

A second method (Method 2) involves an OTA autonomous advertisement. Thescheduling node knows the inputs from a previous advertisement per AP.

A third method (Method 3) is a mix of Method 1 and Method 2. Forexample, the scheduling node might inquire only when it is not receivingadvertisements.

A fourth method (Method 4) uses a wired backhaul. The scheduling nodecollects inputs from all APs via a wired backhaul.

VII-A. Signaling of UL COBF Scheduling Decision

The following operations may be used to signal an UL COBF schedulingdecision.

VII-A-1. Frame for Sending an UL COBF Scheduling Decision

Referring to the signaling of FIG. 27, to align an UL transmission frommulti-BSS STAs, each AP may send an individual TF to trigger an ULtransmission from its STAs at a target time. For example, AP1 to AP4 mayeach send a TF (represented by TFs 2702 to 2704). The STAs will thensend their UL transmissions (represented by an UL transmission 2706 fromSTA1-1, an UL transmission 2708 from STA1-2, through an UL transmission2710 from STA4-2) in response to the TFs 2702 to 2704.

A controller may provide a TF transmission reference time. Thecontroller could be an AP or a separate entity.

To avoid interference, individual AP TFs may use orthogonal resources.For example, the TFs may be sent via different time slots, differentfrequency bands, of different spatial streams.

The signaling 2800 of FIG. 28 illustrates an alternative example thatused a common resource instead of orthogonal resources for the TFs. Inthis case, individual AP TFs may use the same resource with identicalPHY and MAC formats to send a Multi-BSS UL Trigger Frame 2802. The STAswill then send their UL transmissions (represented by an UL transmission2804 from STA1-1, an UL transmission 2806 from STA1-2, through an ULtransmission 2808 from STA4-2) in response to the TFs 2802. Here, theTFs 2802 carry the same contents and, hence, are essentially the samesignal at a STA. This technique may require fewer resources than TFs indifferent time slots and may be easier to be received by STAs than TFsin difference sub-bands or spatial streams.

A node can send an UL COBF scheduling decision in a scheduling framebefore or after individual AP TFs. The node can be a leader AP or any APin a cluster winning the access (e.g., AP1). The scheduler passes thedecision to the scheduling frame sender if the scheduler is not thesender. The scheduling frame may also act as a multi-AP TF forindividual AP TFs.

After receiving a scheduling frame, each AP copies the decision at leastrelated to its InBSS STAs to its individual TF. If TFs are sent on thesame resource, the APs ensure that the TFs have identical contents,e.g., by copying a decision for all STAs to the TF. The scheduling framesender may or may not send individual TFs.

The signaling 2900 of FIG. 29 illustrates an example where AP1 sends aTF with a scheduling decision 2902, after which AP1 through AP4 sendtheir own TFs (represented by TFs 2904 to 2906). The STAs send their ULtransmissions (represented by an UL transmission 2908 from STA1-1, an ULtransmission 2910 from STA1-2, through an UL transmission 2812 fromSTA4-2) in response to the TFs. The APs then acknowledge the ULtransmissions (represented by an ACK 2914 from AP1 through an ACK 2916from AP4).

Referring to the signaling 3000 of FIG. 30, individual AP TFs may beavoided if all scheduled STAs are in range of the scheduling framesender. In this case, the scheduling frame may directly trigger all ofthe scheduled STAs. An indicator in the scheduling frame can be set toinform the APs to skip the TFs. The scheduling frame sender can identifyall of the STAs that are in range based on the scheduling input for them(discussed below), e.g., each STA's nulling AP IDs, DL/UL RSSI or PL toeach AP in cluster.

In FIG. 30, AP1 sends a TF with a scheduling decision 3002, after whichthe STAs send their UL transmissions (represented by an UL transmission3004 from STA1-1, an UL transmission 3006 from STA1-2, through an ULtransmission 3008 from STA4-2) in response to the TF. The APs thenacknowledge the UL transmissions (represented by an ACK 3010 from AP1through an ACK 3012 from AP4).

VII-A-2. Scheduling Signaling for a Sequence of UL COBF Transmission

In some scenarios, an initiating node may hold a long TXOP for asequence of UL COBF transmissions. A scheduling decision pertransmission can be signaled using the following options. In a firstoption, decisions for all transmissions are signaled in a master frame(e.g., a first multi-AP TF). In a second option, a decision pertransmission is signaled in multi-AP TF prior to each UL COBFtransmission. In addition, the first multi-AP TF may indicate STA IDspotentially scheduled in following transmissions.

The signaling 3100 of FIG. 31 illustrates an example of the first optionwhere a master frame 3102 (e.g., a multi-AP TF with scheduling for alltransmissions) triggers a TF 3104 from AP1, a TF 3106 from AP2, a TF3108 from AP3, and a TF 3110 from AP4. Scheduled STAs in the clusterrespond to these TFs with UL COBF transmissions 3112. The APs thenacknowledge the UL transmissions (represented by an ACK 3114 from AP1,an ACK 3116 from AP2, an ACK 3118 from AP3, and an ACK 3120 from AP4).

FIG. 31 also illustrates an example of the second option where a triggerframe 3122 (e.g., a multi-AP TF with scheduling for the nexttransmission) triggers a TF 3124 from AP1, a TF 3126 from AP2, a TF 3128from AP3, and a TF 3130 from AP4. Scheduled STAs in the cluster respondto these TFs with UL COBF transmissions 3132. The APs then acknowledgethe UL transmissions (represented by an ACK 3134 from AN, an ACK 3136from AP2, an ACK 3138 from AP3, and an ACK 3140 from AP4).

In a scenario with multiple UL COBF transmissions per TXOP, the sequencemay be simplified by combining each AP's ACK with a TF and ignoring themulti-AP TFs in between. Alternatively, or in addition, the AP's ACK maybe replaced by a delayed ACK (that is sent to the STA at a later time).

The signaling 3200 of FIG. 32 illustrates an example of the secondoption where an ACK is combined with a TF. A master frame 3202 (e.g., amulti-AP TF with scheduling for all transmissions) triggers a TF 3204from AN, a TF 3206 from AP2, a TF 3208 from AP3, and a TF 3210 from AP4.Scheduled STAs in the cluster respond to these TFs with UL COBFtransmissions 3212. The APs then acknowledge the UL transmissions whereeach acknowledgment includes a TF (represented by an ACK+TF 3214 fromAN, an ACK+TF 3216 from AP2, an ACK+TF 3218 from AP3, and an ACK+TF 3220from AP4). Scheduled STAs in the cluster respond to these ACK+TFs withUL COBF transmissions 3222. If there are no more UL transmissions, theAPs simply acknowledge the last UL transmissions (represented by an ACK3224 from AP1, an ACK 3226 from AP2, an ACK 3228 from AP3, and an ACK3230 from AP4).

VII-A-3. Contents of UL COBF Scheduling Decision

The scheduling decision may include, for example, scheduling informationfor individual AP TFs, scheduling information for UL data transmission,and scheduling information for DL ACK transmission.

The scheduling information for individual AP TFs may include, for eachparticipating AP, the AP ID, and the allocated resource for its TF(e.g., a start stream index, a stream #, a time slot, a sub-band, anMCS, etc.). The scheduling information may also include, for the wholeindividual AP TF transmission, the total duration and bandwidth.

The scheduling information for UL data transmission may include, foreach scheduled STA, the STA ID, the allocated resource for its UL COBFtransmission (as listed above), the OBSS AP IDs if UL nulling isrequired for those APs, the STA's target RSSI at the associated AP orthe STA's maximum target RSSI, transmit power, or maximum transmit power(to potentially control over-silencing issue due to multi-BSStransmission). The scheduling information may also include, for thewhole UL COBF transmission, the total duration, the bandwidth, thenumber of long training fields (LTFs), the guard interval (GI), and LTFdurations.

The scheduling information for DL ACK transmission may include, for eachparticipating AP, the allocated resource for DL ACK for all its STAs(e.g., a start stream index, a stream #, a time slot, a sub-band, anMCS), or the allocated resources for DL ACK of each of its STAs (e.g.,by specifying the DL ACK resource per STA).

VII-B. Input Collection for UL COBF Scheduling

The following candidate STA information, for example, can be sent by aSTA's associated AP or by the STA itself to the scheduler as schedulinginput: STA information for UL data transmission and STA information forDL ACK transmission.

The STA information for UL data transmission may include the candidateSTA ID(s). These STAs should support UL COBF transmission and typicallyhave UL data at this moment. The STA information may include, for eachcandidate STA, STA_ID, UL COBF transmission capability (e.g., max stream# per supported BW, support for partial BW or not); required UL dataresource (e.g., transmission duration for a reference BW and stream #,amount of buffered data, and MCS); OBSS AP IDs if UL nulling is requiredfor those APs; scheduling priority metrics (e.g., highest accesscategory, longest waiting time, latency requirement, proportional fairmetric (ratio of instant rate to average rate), of buffered UL data);and inputs to check UL RSSI difference (as specified below).

The STA information for DL ACK transmission may include the candidateSTA's required DL ACK resource (similar to above for data transmission),and MCS.

The following check may ensure that scheduled STAs across BSSs canmutually satisfy each other's maximum tolerable RSSI differencerequirement. For every participating AP, each STA's caused RSSI to thatAP is less than or equal to the maximum tolerable RSSI of every STA ofthat AP. In an alternative check, the above term “each STA's” may bereplaced by “the sum of STAs' excluding the “every STA”.” An alternativecheck may be, for every participating AP, the sum of STAs' caused RSSIto that AP is less than or equal to the maximum tolerable RSSI of thatAP.

The above checks may use one or more of the following inputs percandidate STA. A first input is the STA's maximum tolerable RSSI at itsown AP. This is equal to the target RSSI for the STA's MCS plus themaximum tolerable RSSI difference. A second input is the STA's causedRSSI to every AP. This can be computed as the STA's target RSSI at itsown AP plus the STA's PL to its own AP minus the STA's PL to theconsidered “every AP.” Both inputs can be replaced by other similarforms, e.g., variables to compute them.

The scheduler collects candidate STA information per BSS to scheduledSTAs across BSSs for each UL COBF transmission. Several examples ofinput collection follow.

VII-B-1. Method 1: OTA Explicit Inquiry

Referring to the signaling 3300 of FIG. 33, after obtaining a TXOP, ascheduler (AP1 in the example of FIG. 33) sends an inquiry frame 3302 tosolicit candidate STA information from a set of APs. The inquiry framealso indicates the resource per AP response, e.g., different sub-bands,spatial streams, time slots, etc.

Each AP responds with candidate STA information of its BSS. In FIG. 33,AP2 responds with the candidate STA information of BSS2 3304, AP3responds with the candidate STA information of BSS3 3306, and AP4responds with the candidate STA information of BSS4 3308.

The scheduler sends a multi-AP TF with the scheduling decision 3310. AP1sends a TF 3312, AP2 sends a TF 3314, AP3 sends a TF 3316, and AP4 sendsa TF 3318. The scheduled STAs send their UL transmissions 3320. The APsthen acknowledge the UL transmissions (represented by an ACK 3322 fromAP1, an ACK 3324 from AP2, an ACK 3326 from AP3, and an ACK 3328 fromAP4).

In an alternative approach depicted by the signaling 3400 of FIG. 34,instead of inquiring each AP, a scheduler (AP1 in this example) may pollpotential STAs in its range for their per-STA information. For example,the AP1 can send an inquiry 3402 in an UL OFDMA random access TF.Potential STAs respond with their per-STA information 3404 (discussedabove) via a random access procedure.

VII-B-2. Method 2: OTA Autonomous Advertisement

Each AP may advertise candidate STA information in its transmittedframes (e.g., an AP may signal in a PHY preamble that the frame carriescandidate STA information so that OBSS APs will not drop the frame forreuse). For example, the information may be advertised in a PHYpreamble, such as in new fields in SIG-A, SIG-B, or a new SIG-C. Theinformation may be advertised in a MAC header, such as in a new HEcontrol field. In a DL MU PPDU, a new HE control field can be multicastto other APs in the same cluster on a dedicated resource unit, with RAas the cluster ID. The information may be sent in a new IE, or sent inan management/action frame body, such as beacons.

In the signaling 3500 of FIG. 35, AP3 sends the candidate STAinformation of BSS3 3502, AP1 sends the candidate STA information ofBSS1 3504, AP2 sends the candidate STA information of BSS2 3506, and AP4sends the candidate STA information of BSS4 3508.

After obtaining a TXOP, the scheduler (AP1 in the example of FIG. 35)determines the scheduling based on the latest advertisement per AP, andsends a multi-AP TF 3510. AP1 sends a TF 3512, AP2 sends a TF 3514, AP3sends a TF 3516, and AP4 sends a TF 3518.

In an alternate implementation depicted by the signaling 3600 of FIG.36, STAs potentially in an UL COBF transmission can advertise theirper-STA information in transmitted frames 3602-3604. Informationlocation in the frame can have a similar format as the AP advertisementdiscussed above. The scheduler (AP1 in the example) determines thescheduling based on the latest advertisement from advertising STAs, andsends a multi-AP TF 3606.

VII-B-3. Method 3: Mix of Method 1 and 2

A scheduler can inquire of an AP or STA when the scheduler is notreceiving its advertisement recently, e.g., in the last 50 ms. This maysave inquiry overhead.

VII-B-4. Method 4: Wired Backhaul Based

A scheduler may collect candidate STA information from all APs via awired backhaul. These APs can be in the same UL COBF cluster.

VII-C. Reuse of LTF Sequence

As described above, each scheduled STA in an UL COBF transmission may beallocated with certain spatial streams. A scheduler may specify thestarting stream index and the number of streams per STA. Each streamindex corresponds to an orthogonal LTF sequence in time (e.g., a row ina P matrix) for UL channel estimation. The LTF sequence assignment mayhave the following options.

In a first option (Option 1), each stream uses a distinct LTF sequence.For example, a total of 6 scheduled streams may need 6 LTF sequencesover 6 LTF symbols.

In a second option (Option 2), streams can reuse the same LTF sequenceif there are disjoint sets of affected APs. A stream affects an AP ifthe stream is causing relatively high RSSI at the AP. Such a stream canbe identified using the candidate STA information described above (e.g.,the STA's caused RSSI to each AP, or the STA's UL nulling AP IDs). Thereuse may be due to the affected APs only seeing the LTF from theaffecting stream. The reuse may reduce the total number of LTF sequencesand hence the number of LTF symbols.

An example of LTF Sequence Reuse will be described with reference to thewireless communication system 3700 of FIG. 37. In this example, 4 APs(AP1-AP4) participate in a UL COBF reception. Each AP serves one InBSSSTA with a single antenna. For example, a first AP AP1 serves STA S1-1,a second AP AP2 serves STA S2-1, etc. In addition, each STA only“affects” two APs for purposes of this discussion: STA S1-1 affects thefirst AP AP1 and the second AP AP2, STA S2-1 affects the second AP AP2and the fourth AP AP4, STA S3-1 affects the first AP AP1 and the thirdAP AP3, and STA S4-1 affects the third AP AP3 and the fourth AP AP4.

In this case, STAs S1-1 and S4-1 can reuse the same LTF sequence, whileSTAs S2-1 and S3-1 can reuse the other sequence. The total requirednumber of LTF sequences and, hence, the number of LTF symbols is two. Incontrast, four would be required without reuse.

VII-D. Additional Inputs for COBF Scheduling

A scheduling node may ensure that UL COBF scheduling meets the followingfeasibility requirement. For each AP joining the UL COBF reception, theAP's total dimensions for nulling plus its dimensions serving InBSS STAsis less than or equal to its total available dimensions for UL COBF.

To check the above requirement, a scheduling node may determine thetotal available dimensions for UL COBF per AP. This information can beacquired via OTA messages. For example, each AP can signal its totaldimensions for UL COBF in transmitted frames, e.g., in a new “UL COBFcapability” IE in beacons, or sent together with candidate STAinformation.

VII-E. Limit on reported number of STAs

To save overhead, there may be limit on the reported or advertisednumber of candidate STAs in just-described Methods 1-4. In Method 1, thelimit can be specified by the inquiring AP in an inquiry frame. InMethod 2, the limit can be specified by the cluster leader AP. In Method4, the limit can be specified by a central controller.

The limit can have the following forms. A first limit is the totalreported/advertised number of candidate STAs per AP. A second limit isthe total maximum number of supported streams of the reported/advertisednumber of candidate STAs per AP. The above metrics can be for the totalcandidate STAs, the total candidate STAs requiring nulling, or the totalcandidate STAs not requiring nulling.

VII-F. Cascaded Scheduling

An example of cascaded scheduling is shown by the signaling 3800 of FIG.38. As noted above, the previous methods describe scenarios where onescheduler makes the scheduling decision. In other implementations, thescheduling decision can be made by all APs in a distributed way. Afterobtaining a TXOP, an initiating node (AP1 in example of FIG. 38) sends aframe 3802 with a scheduling decision for its own InBSS STAs. The frameindicates the order for the OBSS APs to respond with a decision fortheir InBSS STAs. The frame also indicates orthogonal partitions ofremaining resources among the OBSS APs for both the UL COBF transmissionand the DL ACK (e.g., AP2-AP4 use the remaining dimensions 3-4, 5-6, 7-8for their InBSS STAs, respectively).

Each AP responds in an assigned order with a scheduling decision for itsown InBSS STAs within an assigned resource range. In FIG. 38, AP2 sendsits scheduling decision 3804, followed by AP3 sending its schedulingdecision 3806, followed by AP4 sending its scheduling decision 3808.Thus, each AP knows the other APs' decisions.

The last AP's response also triggers the individual AP TFs 3810, 3812,3814, and 3816 and the UL COBF transmission 3818.

VII-G. DL Multi-BSS Composite Frame Format

The disclosure relates in some aspects to a composite frame format forCOBF. Several examples follow.

As shown in the signaling 3900 of FIG. 39, for a DL COBF transmission, acomposite DL COBF frame may be sent from participating APs to theirSTAs. A multi-AP trigger 3902 is sent after carrier sense multipleaccess (CSMA) backoff, followed by a composite frame F including a DLCOBF transmission 3904 from AP1, a DL COBF transmission 3906 from AP2, aDL COBF transmission 3908 from AP3, and a DL COBF transmission 3910 fromAP4. The STAs send UL ACKs 3912 in response to the composite frame F.

As shown in the signaling 4000 of FIG. 40, for an UL COBF transmission,a composite DL OFDMA frame may be sent from participating APs to triggerUL transmission by their STAs. A multi-AP trigger 4002 triggers thesending of a composite frame F including TFs from AP1 to AP4(represented by TF 4004 to TF 4006). The STAs send UL transmissions(represented by transmissions 4008, 4010, through 4012) in response tothe composite frame F. AP1 to AP4 then acknowledge (represented by ACKs4014 to 4106) the UL transmissions.

The DL Multi-BSS Composite Frame may have the following options based onhow each AP's DL scheduling information is signaled.

A first option (Option 1) involves an orthogonal scheduling related PHYpreamble. Here, a scheduling related PHY preamble may be similar toSIG-B in an IEEE 802.11ax DL MU-MIMO PPDU. Each AP sends its schedulinginformation on an orthogonal resource.

A second option (Option 2) involves a common scheduling related PHYpreamble. Here, each AP sends all of the APs' scheduling information onthe same resource.

VII-G-1. Option 1: Orthogonal Scheduling Preamble

A DL multi-BSS frame may have four major components. As shown in FIG.41, these components may include a common preamble region 4102, ascheduling-related physical layer (PHY) preamble region 4104, a trainingsymbol region 4106 for training symbols from all APs, and a data region4108 for data from all APs.

VII-G-1.a. Component 1: Common Preamble

All APs may send the same common preamble on every 20 MHz channel. Forexample, all of the APs send the same common preamble on channel 1, allof the APs send the same common preamble on channel 2, all of the APssend the same common preamble on channel 3, and all of the APs send thesame common preamble on channel 4. This preamble is to be detected bythe AP's STAs on the cluster's primary channel, and to reserve the wholeBW. The preamble may have a fixed size and include information common toall APs. For example, the preamble may include L-STF, L-LTF, L-SIG, andpart of 11ax SIG-A information. This may include format bits (e.g., toindicate new DL multi-BSS frame), color bits (e.g., dedicated clustercolor, or access-winning AP's color), and common frame parameters (e.g.,BW, GI+LTF durations, TXOP duration, # of LTFs, scheduling preamblesymbol # and MCS, SR information, Doppler mode, etc.).

VII-G-1.b. Component 2: Scheduling Related PHY Preamble

An AP may send its scheduling preamble on an orthogonal resource unit(RU), which may have a variable duration and include information for theAP's own BSS operation. For example, AP1 may send its schedulingpreamble 4110 on channel 1, AP2 may send its scheduling preamble 4112 onchannel 2, AP3 may send its scheduling preamble 4114 on channel 3, andAP4 may send its scheduling preamble 4116 on channel 4. This informationmay include DL STA resource allocation and DL receive information (e.g.,LDPC extra symbol indicator, pre-FEC padding factor, PE ambiguityindicator). The contents of the scheduling preamble may have a similarformat as SIG-B. Here, the extension bit may be set to indicateadditional fields are added besides DL resource allocation information.Alternatively, a scheduling preamble may have a new format differentfrom SIG-B.

A STA can determine the RU for its AP's scheduling preamble with thefollowing options.

A first option (Option 1) involves a fixed RU allocation. Each clustermember AP has a fixed RU allocation, e.g., determined upon clustersetup.

In a second option (Option 2), an RU allocation is signaled in a commonpreamble.

A first sub-option (Option 2-1) for Option 2 involves signaling theindex of a pre-configured allocation, e.g., the index could be a bitmapof participated AP indices. For example, the bitmap “1110” may mean thatthe first 3 APs are in the frame with 3 pre-configured RUs sequentiallyallocated to them.

Mapping of the index to a pre-configured allocation can have followingsub-options. One further sub-option (Option 2-1-1) involves the mappingdecision being made by a standards body (e.g., the bitmap “1110” meansalways use equal RUs for the first three APs). Another furthersub-option (Option 2-1-2), involves the mapping being based on a tablenegotiated upon cluster setup (e.g., the bitmap “1110” in the negotiatedtable means the RU for the first AP is twice of that for the second APand the third AP).

A second sub-option (Option 2-1) involves signaling dynamic resourceallocation information per AP. Dynamic allocation information mayinclude tone/stream starting index and numbers. The allocation isflexible, but a common preamble may have a varying size.

VII-G-1.c. Component 3: Training Symbols from all APs

All APs send STF and LTFs in the training symbol region 4106. For thecase of DL OFDMA across BSSs, each AP's training symbols might only bewithin its allocated sub-band.

VII-G-1.d. Component 4: Data Portion from all APs

All APs send data in the data region 4108. An AP may send data for eachInBSS STA based on an allocation in its scheduling preamble.

VII-G-2. Option 2: Common Scheduling Preamble

Option 2 is the same as Option 1, except that orthogonal schedulingpreamble is replaced by a common scheduling preamble 4204 as shown, forexample, in FIG. 42. All APs send the same common scheduling preamble4204 on each 20 MHz. For example, all of the APs send the preamble 4210on channel 1, all of the APs send the preamble 4212 on channel 2, all ofthe APs send the preamble 4214 on channel 3, and all of the APs send thepreamble 4216 on channel 4. The common scheduling preamble containsscheduling information of all APs. There is no need to signal thescheduling preamble allocation. There is no change on the APtransmission BW. This approach may be more reliable due to the combinedenergy from all APs. The common scheduling preamble may be different fordifferent 20 MHz bands (e.g., the preamble only carries schedulinginformation related to that 20 MHz).

VIII. Signaling for DL and UL Joint MIMO

As discussed above, distributed MIMO may take various forms. An exampleof Joint MIMO will be discussed with reference to the wirelesscommunication system 4300 of FIG. 43 and the scheduling shown in FIG.44.

As discussed above, there can be two categories of STAs: Reuse STAs andnon-Reuse STAs. Reuse STAs are those STAs that have sufficient SINR toserve simultaneously without having to be nulled.

For Non-Reuse/Edge STA, any OBSS transmission degrades the SINR of theseSTAs. Consequently, these STAs may be time division multiplexed (TDM′d)without Distributed MIMO. Distributed MIMO allows multiplexing theseSTAs, either with Joint MIMO or with COBF.

FIG. 44 illustrates an example of scheduling of baseline CSMA with MU4402. Each of the BSSs are TDM′d since APs are in the same collisiondomain

FIG. 44 also illustrates an example of scheduling of COBF 4404 forcomparison. This techniques creates additional reuse opportunities forNon-Reuse STAs by nulling the dominant interferences. The number ofNon-Reuse STAs that can be scheduled depends on the number ofun-utilized dimensions.

Finally, FIG. 44 illustrates an example of scheduling of Joint MIMO 4406for further comparison. In a TXOP, the cluster (4 APs) can serve N 1-SSSTAs, where N is approximately ¾th of the total number of antennasacross all 4 APs. An example of signaling (similar to the signalingdescribed above) that could be used for Joint MIMO follows.

A first step involves cluster forming. If overhead is ignored, it isalmost always beneficial to participate in a joint MIMO operation,regardless of whether the AP's dimensions are fully utilized orunderutilized. Thus, there is no need for metrics to help determine ifgrouping is beneficial.

A second step involves reuse STA identification. This might not becritical to Joint MIMO, since every stream will consume one dimension.Thus, there might not be a reuse use case within a Joint MIMO cluster,even if STA does not see all of the APs. Potential identificationbenefits include: in DL joint MIMO, a STA don't need to send a BFRP forunseen APs (but there is no such issue if an UL signal is used for DLsounding), and in UL joint MIMO, STAs affecting disjoint sets of APs canshare same UL LTF sequence.

A third step involves sounding for DL Joint MIMO. AN UL sounding NDP cansave more overhead if a large number of STAs is targeted (this may bealso good for DL COBF). However, periodic calibration may be needed tocorrect antenna chain phase shifts across APs. A sounding schedulingdecision frame(s) may be useful to organize sounding. See the discussionof regarding the signaling of the DL COBF sounding scheduling decisionabove.

A fourth step involves an RSSI difference check in data transmissionscheduling. This step might not be needed for DL joint MIMO because allstreams sent by all APs may arrive at each STA with similar RSSI. Thisstep may be used for UL joint MIMO because the total RSSI per STAreceived by all APs could be very different across STAs.

A fifth step involves a frame sequence and format for data transmission.The frame sequence may be similar to DL/UL COBF (e.g., as discussedherein). For DL Joint MIMO, the sequence could be the Multi-AP TF+DLmulti-BSS frame for Joint MIMO+UL STA ACK. See the above discussion forthe signaling of the DL COBF scheduling decision. For UL Joint MIMO, thesequence could be Multi-AP TF+DL multi-BSS frame for individual APTFs+UL Joint MIMO transmission+DL AP ACK. See the above discussion ofthe signaling of the UL COBF scheduling decision.

A Multi-AP TF may have similar contents for a scheduling decision.Alternatively, a decision may be sent by central controller viabackhaul.

A DL multi-BSS frame may have a similar format: DuplicatedSIG-A+orthogonal SIG-B across APs. See the discussion of the DLMulti-BSS composite frame format above.

A sixth step involves PHY operations that might not need new MACsignaling. If UL sounding is used in DL joint MIMO, periodic calibrationmay be used to correct phase shifts across APs. This phase shift may beestimated by the master AP's signals, e.g., multi-AP TF or ACK.

If UL sounding is used in DL joint MIMO, APs may remove their AGC gainsand phase shifts on a measured UL channel. The APs can know their actualAGC gains and phase shifts by their own offline calibrations.

For data transmission in DL joint MIMO, APs may remove their phaseshifts associated with the PA adjustments. APs can know their associatedphase shifts by their own offline calibrations.

For data transmission in DL joint MIMO, APs may remove transmitter phaseshifts within the data transmission duration. APs can estimate frequencyoffset from a master AP based on the master AP's signals.

Example Wireless Communication System

The teachings herein may be implemented using various wirelesstechnologies and/or various spectra. Wireless network technologies mayinclude various types of wireless local area networks (WLANs). A WLANmay be used to interconnect nearby devices together, employing widelyused networking protocols. The various aspects described herein mayapply to any communication standard, such as Wi-Fi or, more generally,any member of the IEEE 802.11 family of wireless protocols.

In some aspects, wireless signals may be transmitted according to an802.11 protocol using orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM),direct-sequence spread spectrum (DSSS) communication, a combination ofOFDM and DSSS communication, or other schemes.

Certain of the devices described herein may further implement MultipleInput Multiple Output (MIMO) technology and be implemented as part of an802.11 protocol. A MIMO system employs multiple (N_(t)) transmitantennas and multiple (N_(r)) receive antennas for data transmission. AMIMO channel formed by the N_(t) transmit and N_(r) receive antennas maybe decomposed into N_(s) independent channels, which are also referredto as spatial channels or streams, where N_(s)≤min{N_(t), N_(r)}. Eachof the N_(s) independent channels corresponds to a dimension. The MIMOsystem can provide improved performance (e.g., higher throughput and/orgreater reliability) if the additional dimensionalities created by themultiple transmit and receive antennas are utilized.

In some implementations, a WLAN includes various devices that access thewireless network. For example, there may be two types of devices: accesspoints (“APs”) and clients (also referred to as stations, or “STAs”). Ingeneral, an AP serves as a hub or base station for the WLAN and a STAserves as a user of the WLAN. For example, a STA may be a laptopcomputer, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a mobile phone, etc. In anexample, a STA connects to an AP via a Wi-Fi (e.g., IEEE 802.11protocol) compliant wireless link to obtain general connectivity to theInternet or to other wide area networks. In some implementations, a STAmay also be used as an AP.

An access point (“AP”) may also include, be implemented as, or known asa Transmit Receive Point (TRP), a NodeB, Radio Network Controller(“RNC”), eNodeB, Base Station Controller (“BSC”), Base TransceiverStation (“BTS”), Base Station (“BS”), Transceiver Function (“TF”), RadioRouter, Radio Transceiver, or some other terminology.

A station “STA” may also include, be implemented as, or known as anaccess terminal (“AT”), a subscriber station, a subscriber unit, amobile station, a remote station, a remote terminal, a user terminal, auser agent, a user device, user equipment, or some other terminology. Insome implementations, an access terminal may include, be implemented as,or known as a cellular telephone, a cordless telephone, a SessionInitiation Protocol (“SIP”) phone, a wireless local loop (“WLL”)station, a personal digital assistant (“PDA”), a handheld device havingwireless connection capability, or some other suitable processing deviceconnected to a wireless modem. Accordingly, one or more aspects taughtherein may be incorporated into a phone (e.g., a cellular phone or smartphone), a computer (e.g., a laptop), a portable communication device, aheadset, a portable computing device (e.g., a personal data assistant),an entertainment device (e.g., a music or video device, or a satelliteradio), a gaming device or system, a global positioning system device, amedical device, a sensor device, or any other suitable device that isconfigured to communicate via a wireless medium.

FIG. 45 illustrates an example of a wireless communication system 4500in which aspects of the present disclosure may be employed. The wirelesscommunication system 4500 may operate pursuant to a wireless standard,for example the 802.11 standard. The wireless communication system 4500may include an AP 4504, which communicates with STAs 4506 a, 4506 b,4506 c, 4506 d, 4506 e, and 4506 f (collectively STAs 4506).

STAs 4506 e and 4506 f may have difficulty communicating with the AP4504 or may be out of range and unable to communicate with the AP 4504.As such, another STA 4506 d may be configured as a relay device (e.g., adevice including STA and AP functionality) that relays communicationbetween the AP 4504 and the STAs 4506 e and 4506 f.

A variety of processes and methods may be used for transmissions in thewireless communication system 4500 between the AP 4504 and the STAs4506. For example, signals may be sent and received between the AP 4504and the STAs 4506 in accordance with OFDM/OFDMA techniques. If this isthe case, the wireless communication system 4500 may be referred to asan OFDM/OFDMA system. Alternatively, signals may be sent and receivedbetween the AP 4504 and the STAs 4506 in accordance with CDMAtechniques. If this is the case, the wireless communication system 4500may be referred to as a CDMA system.

A communication link that facilitates transmission from the AP 4504 toone or more of the STAs 4506 may be referred to as a downlink (DL) 4508,and a communication link that facilitates transmission from one or moreof the STAs 4506 to the AP 4504 may be referred to as an uplink (UL)4510. Alternatively, a downlink 4508 may be referred to as a forwardlink or a forward channel, and an uplink 4510 may be referred to as areverse link or a reverse channel

The AP 4504 may act as a base station and provide wireless communicationcoverage in a basic service area (BSA) 4502. The AP 4504 along with theSTAs 4506 associated with the AP 4504 and that use the AP 4504 forcommunication may be referred to as a basic service set (BSS).

Access points may thus be deployed in a communication network to provideaccess to one or more services (e.g., network connectivity) for one ormore access terminals that may be installed within or that may roamthroughout a coverage area of the network. For example, at variouspoints in time an access terminal may connect to the AP 4504 or to someother access point in the network (not shown).

Each of the access points may communicate with one or more networkentities (represented, for convenience, by network entities 4512 in FIG.45), including each other, to facilitate wide area network connectivity.A network entity may take various forms such as, for example, one ormore radio and/or core network entities. Thus, in variousimplementations the network entities 4512 may represent functionalitysuch as at least one of: network management (e.g., via anauthentication, authorization, and accounting (AAA) server), sessionmanagement, mobility management, gateway functions, interworkingfunctions, database functionality, or some other suitable networkfunctionality. Two or more of such network entities may be co-locatedand/or two or more of such network entities may be distributedthroughout a network.

It should be noted that in some implementations the wirelesscommunication system 4500 might not have a central AP 4504, but rathermay function as a peer-to-peer network between the STAs 4506.Accordingly, the functions of the AP 4504 described herein mayalternatively be performed by one or more of the STAs 4506. Also, asmentioned above, a relay may incorporate at least some of thefunctionality of an AP and a STA.

FIG. 46 illustrates various components that may be utilized in anapparatus 4602 (e.g., a wireless device) that may be employed within thewireless communication system 4500. The apparatus 4602 is an example ofa device that may be configured to implement the various methodsdescribed herein. For example, the apparatus 4602 may take the form ofthe AP 4504, a relay (e.g., the STA 4506 d), or one of the STAs 4506 ofFIG. 45.

The apparatus 4602 may include a processing system 4604 that controlsoperation of the apparatus 4602. The processing system 4604 may also bereferred to as a central processing unit (CPU). A memory component 4606(e.g., including a memory device), which may include both read-onlymemory (ROM) and random access memory (RAM), provides instructions anddata to the processing system 4604. A portion of the memory component4606 may also include non-volatile random access memory (NVRAM). Theprocessing system 4604 typically performs logical and arithmeticoperations based on program instructions stored within the memorycomponent 4606. The instructions in the memory component 4606 may beexecutable to implement the methods described herein.

When the apparatus 4602 is implemented or used as a transmitting node,the processing system 4604 may be configured to select one of aplurality of media access control (MAC) header types, and to generate apacket having that MAC header type. For example, the processing system4604 may be configured to generate a packet including a MAC header and apayload and to determine what type of MAC header to use.

When the apparatus 4602 is implemented or used as a receiving node, theprocessing system 4604 may be configured to process packets of aplurality of different MAC header types. For example, the processingsystem 4604 may be configured to determine the type of MAC header usedin a packet and process the packet and/or fields of the MAC header.

The processing system 4604 may include or be a component of a largerprocessing system implemented with one or more processors. The one ormore processors may be implemented with any combination ofgeneral-purpose microprocessors, microcontrollers, digital signalprocessors (DSPs), field programmable gate array (FPGAs), programmablelogic devices (PLDs), controllers, state machines, gated logic, discretehardware components, dedicated hardware finite state machines, or anyother suitable entities that can perform calculations or othermanipulations of information.

The processing system may also include machine-readable media forstoring software. Software shall be construed broadly to mean any typeof instructions, whether referred to as software, firmware, middleware,microcode, hardware description language, or otherwise. Instructions mayinclude code (e.g., in source code format, binary code format,executable code format, or any other suitable format of code). Theinstructions, when executed by the one or more processors, cause theprocessing system to perform the various functions described herein.

The apparatus 4602 may also include a housing 4608 that may include atransmitter 4610 and a receiver 4612 to allow transmission and receptionof data between the apparatus 4602 and a remote location. Thetransmitter 4610 and receiver 4612 may be combined into singlecommunication device (e.g., a transceiver 4614). An antenna 4616 may beattached to the housing 4608 and electrically coupled to the transceiver4614. The apparatus 4602 may also include (not shown) multipletransmitters, multiple receivers, multiple transceivers, and/or multipleantennas. A transmitter 4610 and a receiver 4612 may take the form of anintegrated device (e.g., embodied as a transmitter circuit and areceiver circuit of a single communication device) in someimplementations, may take the form of a separate transmitter device anda separate receiver device in some implementations, or may be embodiedin other ways in other implementations.

The transmitter 4610 may be configured to wirelessly transmit packetshaving different MAC header types. For example, the transmitter 4610 maybe configured to transmit packets with different types of headersgenerated by the processing system 4604, discussed above.

The receiver 4612 may be configured to wirelessly receive packets havingdifferent MAC header type. In some aspects, the receiver 4612 isconfigured to detect a type of a MAC header used and process the packetaccordingly.

The receiver 4612 may be used to detect and quantify the level ofsignals received by the transceiver 4614. The receiver 4612 may detectsuch signals as total energy, energy per subcarrier per symbol, powerspectral density and other signals. The apparatus 4602 may also includea digital signal processor (DSP) 4620 for use in processing signals. TheDSP 4620 may be configured to generate a data unit for transmission. Insome aspects, the data unit may be a physical layer data unit (PPDU). Insome aspects, the PPDU is referred to as a packet.

The apparatus 4602 may further include a user interface 4622 in someaspects. The user interface 4622 may include a keypad, a microphone, aspeaker, and/or a display. The user interface 4622 may include anyelement or component that conveys information to a user of the apparatus4602 and/or receives input from the user.

The various components of the apparatus 4602 may be coupled together bya bus system 4626. The bus system 4626 may include a data bus, forexample, as well as a power bus, a control signal bus, and a statussignal bus in addition to the data bus. Those of skill in the art willappreciate the components of the apparatus 4602 may be coupled togetheror accept or provide inputs to each other using some other mechanism.

Although a number of separate components are illustrated in FIG. 46, oneor more of the components may be combined or commonly implemented. Forexample, the processing system 4604 may be used to implement not onlythe functionality described above with respect to the processing system4604, but also to implement the functionality described above withrespect to the transceiver 4614 and/or the DSP 4620. Further, each ofthe components illustrated in FIG. 46 may be implemented using aplurality of separate elements. Furthermore, the processing system 4604may be used to implement any of the components, modules, circuits, orthe like described below, or each may be implemented using a pluralityof separate elements.

For ease of reference, when the apparatus 4602 is configured as atransmitting node, it is hereinafter referred to as an apparatus 4602 t.Similarly, when the apparatus 4602 is configured as a receiving node, itis hereinafter referred to as an apparatus 4602 r. A device in thewireless communication system 4500 may implement only functionality of atransmitting node, only functionality of a receiving node, orfunctionality of both a transmitting node and a receive node.

As discussed above, the apparatus 4602 may take the form of an AP 4504or a STA 4506, and may be used to transmit and/or receive communicationhaving a plurality of MAC header types.

The components of FIG. 46 may be implemented in various ways. In someimplementations, the components of FIG. 46 may be implemented in one ormore circuits such as, for example, one or more processors and/or one ormore ASICs (which may include one or more processors). Here, eachcircuit may use and/or incorporate at least one memory component forstoring information or executable code used by the circuit to providethis functionality. For example, some or all of the functionalityrepresented by blocks of FIG. 46 may be implemented by processor andmemory component(s) of the apparatus (e.g., by execution of appropriatecode and/or by appropriate configuration of processor components). Itshould be appreciated that these components may be implemented indifferent types of apparatuses in different implementations (e.g., in anASIC, in a system-on-a-chip (SoC), etc.).

As discussed above, the apparatus 4602 may take the form of an AP 4504or a STA 4506, a relay, or some other type of apparatus, and may be usedto transmit and/or receive communication. FIG. 47 illustrates variouscomponents that may be utilized in the apparatus 4602 t to transmitwireless communication. The components illustrated in FIG. 47 may beused, for example, to transmit OFDM communication. In some aspects, thecomponents illustrated in FIG. 47 are used to generate and transmitpackets to be sent over a bandwidth of less than or equal to 1 MHz.

The apparatus 4602 t of FIG. 47 may include a modulator 4702 configuredto modulate bits for transmission. For example, the modulator 4702 maydetermine a plurality of symbols from bits received from the processingsystem 4604 (FIG. 46) or the user interface 4622 (FIG. 46), for exampleby mapping bits to a plurality of symbols according to a constellation.The bits may correspond to user data or to control information. In someaspects, the bits are received in codewords. In one aspect, themodulator 4702 may include a QAM (quadrature amplitude modulation)modulator, for example, a 16-QAM modulator or a 64-QAM modulator. Inother aspects, the modulator 4702 may include a binary phase-shiftkeying (BPSK) modulator, a quadrature phase-shift keying (QPSK)modulator, or an 8-PSK modulator.

The apparatus 4602 t may further include a transform module 4704configured to convert symbols or otherwise modulated bits from themodulator 4702 into a time domain. In FIG. 47, the transform module 4704is illustrated as being implemented by an inverse fast Fourier transform(IFFT) module. In some implementations, there may be multiple transformmodules (not shown) that transform units of data of different sizes. Insome implementations, the transform module 4704 may be itself configuredto transform units of data of different sizes. For example, thetransform module 4704 may be configured with a plurality of modes, andmay use a different number of points to convert the symbols in eachmode. For example, the IFFT may have a mode where 32 points are used toconvert symbols being transmitted over 32 tones (i.e., subcarriers) intoa time domain, and a mode where 64 points are used to convert symbolsbeing transmitted over 64 tones into a time domain. The number of pointsused by the transform module 4704 may be referred to as the size of thetransform module 4704.

In FIG. 47, the modulator 4702 and the transform module 4704 areillustrated as being implemented in the DSP 4720. In some aspects,however, one or both of the modulator 4702 and the transform module 4704are implemented in the processing system 4604 or in another element ofthe apparatus 4602 t (e.g., see description above with reference to FIG.46).

As discussed above, the DSP 4720 may be configured to generate a dataunit for transmission. In some aspects, the modulator 4702 and thetransform module 4704 may be configured to generate a data unitincluding a plurality of fields including control information and aplurality of data symbols.

Returning to the description of FIG. 47, the apparatus 4602 t mayfurther include a digital to analog converter 4706 configured to convertthe output of the transform module into an analog signal. For example,the time-domain output of the transform module 4704 may be converted toa baseband OFDM signal by the digital to analog converter 4706. Thedigital to analog converter 4706 may be implemented in the processingsystem 4604 or in another element of the apparatus 4602 of FIG. 46. Insome aspects, the digital to analog converter 4706 is implemented in thetransceiver 4614 (FIG. 46) or in a data transmit processor.

The analog signal may be wirelessly transmitted by the transmitter 4710.The analog signal may be further processed before being transmitted bythe transmitter 4710, for example by being filtered or by beingupconverted to an intermediate or carrier frequency. In the aspectillustrated in FIG. 47, the transmitter 4710 includes a transmitamplifier 4708. Prior to being transmitted, the analog signal may beamplified by the transmit amplifier 4708. In some aspects, the amplifier4708 may include a low noise amplifier (LNA).

The transmitter 4710 is configured to transmit one or more packets ordata units in a wireless signal based on the analog signal. The dataunits may be generated using the processing system 4604 (FIG. 46) and/orthe DSP 4720, for example using the modulator 4702 and the transformmodule 4704 as discussed above. Data units that may be generated andtransmitted as discussed above are described in additional detail below.

FIG. 48 illustrates various components that may be utilized in theapparatus 4602 of FIG. 46 to receive wireless communication. Thecomponents illustrated in FIG. 48 may be used, for example, to receiveOFDM communication. For example, the components illustrated in FIG. 48may be used to receive data units transmitted by the componentsdiscussed above with respect to FIG. 47.

The receiver 4812 of apparatus 4602 r is configured to receive one ormore packets or data units in a wireless signal. Data units that may bereceived and decoded or otherwise processed as discussed below.

In the aspect illustrated in FIG. 48, the receiver 4812 includes areceive amplifier 4801. The receive amplifier 4801 may be configured toamplify the wireless signal received by the receiver 4812. In someaspects, the receiver 4812 is configured to adjust the gain of thereceive amplifier 4801 using an automatic gain control (AGC) procedure.In some aspects, the automatic gain control uses information in one ormore received training fields, such as a received short training field(STF) for example, to adjust the gain. Those having ordinary skill inthe art will understand methods for performing AGC. In some aspects, theamplifier 4801 may include an LNA.

The apparatus 4602 r may include an analog to digital converter 4810configured to convert the amplified wireless signal from the receiver4812 into a digital representation thereof. Further to being amplified,the wireless signal may be processed before being converted by theanalog to digital converter 4810, for example by being filtered or bybeing downconverted to an intermediate or baseband frequency. The analogto digital converter 4810 may be implemented in the processing system4604 (FIG. 46) or in another element of the apparatus 4602 r. In someaspects, the analog to digital converter 4810 is implemented in thetransceiver 4614 (FIG. 46) or in a data receive processor.

The apparatus 4602 r may further include a transform module 4804configured to convert the representation of the wireless signal into afrequency spectrum. In FIG. 48, the transform module 4804 is illustratedas being implemented by a fast Fourier transform (FFT) module. In someaspects, the transform module may identify a symbol for each point thatit uses. As described above with reference to FIG. 47, the transformmodule 4804 may be configured with a plurality of modes, and may use adifferent number of points to convert the signal in each mode. Thenumber of points used by the transform module 4804 may be referred to asthe size of the transform module 4804. In some aspects, the transformmodule 4804 may identify a symbol for each point that it uses.

The apparatus 4602 r may further include a channel estimator andequalizer 4805 configured to form an estimate of the channel over whichthe data unit is received, and to remove certain effects of the channelbased on the channel estimate. For example, the channel estimator andequalizer 4805 may be configured to approximate a function of thechannel, and the channel equalizer may be configured to apply an inverseof that function to the data in the frequency spectrum.

The apparatus 4602 r may further include a demodulator 4806 configuredto demodulate the equalized data. For example, the demodulator 4806 maydetermine a plurality of bits from symbols output by the transformmodule 4804 and the channel estimator and equalizer 4805, for example byreversing a mapping of bits to a symbol in a constellation. The bits maybe processed or evaluated by the processing system 4604 (FIG. 46), orused to display or otherwise output information to the user interface4622 (FIG. 46). In this way, data and/or information may be decoded. Insome aspects, the bits correspond to codewords. In one aspect, thedemodulator 4806 may include a QAM (quadrature amplitude modulation)demodulator, for example an 8-QAM demodulator or a 64-QAM demodulator.In other aspects, the demodulator 4806 may include a binary phase-shiftkeying (BPSK) demodulator or a quadrature phase-shift keying (QPSK)demodulator.

In FIG. 48, the transform module 4804, the channel estimator andequalizer 4805, and the demodulator 4806 are illustrated as beingimplemented in the DSP 4820. In some aspects, however, one or more ofthe transform module 4804, the channel estimator and equalizer 4805, andthe demodulator 4806 are implemented in the processing system 4604 (FIG.46) or in another element of the apparatus 4602 (FIG. 46).

As discussed above, the wireless signal received at the receiver 4612may include one or more data units. Using the functions or componentsdescribed above, the data units or data symbols therein may be decodedevaluated or otherwise evaluated or processed. For example, theprocessing system 4604 (FIG. 46) and/or the DSP 4820 may be used todecode data symbols in the data units using the transform module 4804,the channel estimator and equalizer 4805, and the demodulator 4806.

Data units exchanged by the AP 4504 and the STA 4506 may include controlinformation or data, as discussed above. At the physical (PHY) layer,these data units may be referred to as physical layer protocol dataunits (PPDUs). In some aspects, a PPDU may be referred to as a packet orphysical layer packet. Each PPDU may include a preamble and a payload.The preamble may include training fields and a SIG field. The payloadmay include a Media Access Control (MAC) header or data for otherlayers, and/or user data, for example. The payload may be transmittedusing one or more data symbols. The systems, methods, and devices hereinmay utilize data units with training fields whose peak-to-power ratiohas been minimized

The apparatus 4602 t shown in FIG. 47 is an example of a single transmitchain used for transmitting via an antenna. The apparatus 4602 r shownin FIG. 48 is an example of a single receive chain used for receivingvia an antenna. In some implementations, the apparatus 4602 t or 4602 rmay implement a portion of a MIMO system using multiple antennas tosimultaneously transmit data.

The wireless communication system 4500 may employ methods to allowefficient access of the wireless medium based on unpredictable datatransmissions while avoiding collisions. As such, in accordance withvarious aspects, the wireless communication system 4500 performs carriersense multiple access/collision avoidance (CSMA/CA) that may be referredto as the Distributed Coordination Function (DCF). More generally, anapparatus 4602 having data for transmission senses the wireless mediumto determine if the channel is already occupied. If the apparatus 4602senses the channel is idle, then the apparatus 4602 transmits prepareddata. Otherwise, the apparatus 4602 may defer for some period beforedetermining again whether or not the wireless medium is free fortransmission. A method for performing CSMA may employ various gapsbetween consecutive transmissions to avoid collisions. In an aspect,transmissions may be referred to as frames and a gap between frames isreferred to as an Interframe Spacing (IFS). Frames may be any one ofuser data, control frames, management frames, and the like.

IFS time durations may vary depending on the type of time gap provided.Some examples of IFS include a Short Interframe Spacing (SIFS), a PointInterframe Spacing (PIFS), and a DCF Interframe Spacing (DIFS) whereSIFS is shorter than PIFS, which is shorter than DIFS. Transmissionsfollowing a shorter time duration will have a higher priority than onethat must wait longer before attempting to access the channel.

A wireless apparatus may include various components that performfunctions based on signals that are transmitted by or received at thewireless apparatus. For example, in some implementations a wirelessapparatus may include a user interface configured to output anindication based on a received signal as taught herein.

A wireless apparatus as taught herein may communicate via one or morewireless communication links that are based on or otherwise support anysuitable wireless communication technology. For example, in some aspectsa wireless apparatus may associate with a network such as a local areanetwork (e.g., a Wi-Fi network) or a wide area network. To this end, awireless apparatus may support or otherwise use one or more of a varietyof wireless communication technologies, protocols, or standards such as,for example, Wi-Fi, WiMAX, CDMA, TDMA, OFDM, and OFDMA. Also, a wirelessapparatus may support or otherwise use one or more of a variety ofcorresponding modulation or multiplexing schemes. A wireless apparatusmay thus include appropriate components (e.g., air interfaces) toestablish and communicate via one or more wireless communication linksusing the above or other wireless communication technologies. Forexample, a device may include a wireless transceiver with associatedtransmitter and receiver components that may include various components(e.g., signal generators and signal processors) that facilitatecommunication over a wireless medium.

The teachings herein may be incorporated into (e.g., implemented withinor performed by) a variety of apparatuses (e.g., nodes). In someaspects, an apparatus (e.g., a wireless apparatus) implemented inaccordance with the teachings herein may include an access point, arelay, or an access terminal.

An access terminal may include, be implemented as, or known as userequipment, a subscriber station, a subscriber unit, a mobile station, amobile, a mobile node, a remote station, a remote terminal, a userterminal, a user agent, a user device, or some other terminology. Insome implementations, an access terminal may take the form of a cellulartelephone, a cordless telephone, a session initiation protocol (SIP)phone, a wireless local loop (WLL) station, a personal digital assistant(PDA), a handheld device having wireless connection capability, or someother suitable processing device connected to a wireless modem.Accordingly, one or more aspects taught herein may be incorporated intoa phone (e.g., a cellular phone or smart phone), a computer (e.g., alaptop), a portable communication device, a portable computing device(e.g., a personal data assistant), an entertainment device (e.g., amusic device, a video device, or a satellite radio), a globalpositioning system device, or any other suitable device that isconfigured to communicate via a wireless medium.

An access point may include, be implemented as, or known as a NodeB, aneNodeB, a radio network controller (RNC), a base station (BS), a radiobase station (RBS), a base station controller (BSC), a base transceiverstation (BTS), a transceiver function (TF), a radio transceiver, a radiorouter, a basic service set (BSS), an extended service set (ESS), amacro cell, a macro node, a Home eNB (HeNB), a femto cell, a femto node,a pico node, or some other similar terminology.

A relay may include, be implemented as, or known as a relay node, arelay device, a relay station, a relay apparatus, or some other similarterminology. As discussed above, in some aspects, a relay may includesome access terminal functionality and some access point functionality.

In some aspects, a wireless apparatus may include an access device(e.g., an access point) for a communication system. Such an accessdevice provides, for example, connectivity to another network (e.g., awide area network such as the Internet or a cellular network) via awired or wireless communication link. Accordingly, the access deviceenables another device (e.g., a wireless station) to access the othernetwork or some other functionality. In addition, it should beappreciated that one or both of the devices may be portable or, in somecases, relatively non-portable. Also, it should be appreciated that awireless apparatus also may be capable of transmitting and/or receivinginformation in a non-wireless manner (e.g., via a wired connection) viaan appropriate communication interface.

The teachings herein may be incorporated into various types ofcommunication systems and/or system components. In some aspects, theteachings herein may be employed in a multiple-access system capable ofsupporting communication with multiple users by sharing the availablesystem resources (e.g., by specifying one or more of bandwidth, transmitpower, coding, interleaving, and so on). For example, the teachingsherein may be applied to any one or combinations of the followingtechnologies: Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) systems,Multiple-Carrier CDMA (MCCDMA), Wideband CDMA (W-CDMA), High-SpeedPacket Access (HSPA, HSPA+) systems, Time Division Multiple Access(TDMA) systems, Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA) systems,Single-Carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA) systems, Orthogonal Frequency DivisionMultiple Access (OFDMA) systems, or other multiple access techniques. Awireless communication system employing the teachings herein may bedesigned to implement one or more standards, such as IS-95, cdma2000,IS-856, W-CDMA, TDSCDMA, and other standards. A CDMA network mayimplement a radio technology such as Universal Terrestrial Radio Access(UTRA), cdma2000, or some other technology. UTRA includes W-CDMA and LowChip Rate (LCR). The cdma2000 technology covers IS-2000, IS-95 andIS-856 standards. A TDMA network may implement a radio technology suchas Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM). An OFDMA network mayimplement a radio technology such as Evolved UTRA (E-UTRA), IEEE 802.11,IEEE 802.16, IEEE 802.20, Flash-OFDM®, etc. UTRA, E-UTRA, and GSM arepart of Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS). The teachingsherein may be implemented in a 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE) system, anUltra-Mobile Broadband (UMB) system, and other types of systems. LTE isa release of UMTS that uses E-UTRA. UTRA, E-UTRA, GSM, UMTS and LTE aredescribed in documents from an organization named “3^(rd) GenerationPartnership Project” (3GPP), while cdma2000 is described in documentsfrom an organization named “3^(rd) Generation Partnership Project 2”(3GPP2). Although certain aspects of the disclosure may be describedusing 3GPP terminology, it is to be understood that the teachings hereinmay be applied to 3GPP (e.g., Rel99, Rel5, Rel6, Rel7) technology, aswell as 3GPP2 (e.g., 1×RTT, 1×EV-DO Re10, RevA, RevB) technology andother technologies.

Example Communication Device

FIG. 49 illustrates an example apparatus 4900 (e.g., an AP, an AT, orsome other type of wireless communication node) according to certainaspects of the disclosure. The apparatus 4900 includes an apparatus 4902(e.g., an integrated circuit) and, optionally, at least one othercomponent 4908. In some aspects, the apparatus 4902 may be configured tooperate in a wireless communication node (e.g., an AP or an AT) and toperform one or more of the operations described herein. For convenience,a wireless communication node may be referred to herein as a wirelessnode. In different scenarios, a wireless node may be an AP, a STA, acentral scheduler, or some other type of communication node. Theapparatus 4902 includes a processing system 4904, and a memory 4906coupled to the processing system 4904. Example implementations of theprocessing system 4904 are provided herein. In some aspects, theprocessing system 4904 and the memory 4906 of FIG. 49 may correspond tothe processing system 4604 and the memory component 4606 of FIG. 46.

The processing system 4904 is generally adapted for processing,including the execution of such programming stored on the memory 4906.For example, the memory 4906 may store instructions that, when executedby the processing system 4904, cause the processing system 4904 toperform one or more of the operations described herein. As used herein,the terms “programming” or “instructions” or “code” shall be construedbroadly to include without limitation instruction sets, instructions,data, code, code segments, program code, programs, programming,subprograms, software modules, applications, software applications,software packages, routines, subroutines, objects, executables, threadsof execution, procedures, functions, etc., whether referred to assoftware, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware descriptionlanguage, or otherwise.

In some implementations, the apparatus 4902 communicates with at leastone other component 4908 (i.e., a component external to the apparatus4902) of the apparatus 4900. To this end, in some implementations, theapparatus 4902 may include at least one interface 4910 (e.g., asend/receive interface) coupled to the processing system 4904 foroutputting and/or obtaining (e.g., sending and/or receiving) information(e.g., received information, generated information, decoded information,messages, etc.) between the processing system 4904 and the at least oneother component 4908. In some implementations, the at least oneinterface 4910 may include an interface bus, bus drivers, bus receivers,other suitable circuitry, or a combination thereof. In someimplementations, the at least one interface 4910 may include radiofrequency (RF) circuitry (e.g., an RF transmitter and/or an RFreceiver). In some implementations, the at least one interface 4910 maybe configured to interface the apparatus 4902 to one or more othercomponents of the apparatus 4900 (other components not shown in FIG.49). For example, the at least one interface 4910 may be configured tointerface the processing system 4904 to a radio frequency (RF) front end(e.g., an RF transmitter and/or am RF receiver). In someimplementations, an interface may include multiple interfaces. Forexample, a bidirectional interface may include a first interface forobtaining and a second interface for outputting.

The apparatus 4902 may communicate with other apparatuses in variousways. In cases where the apparatus 4902 includes an RF transceiver (notshown in FIG. 49), the apparatus may transmit and receive information(e.g., a frame, a message, bits, etc.) via RF signaling. In some cases,rather than transmitting information via RF signaling, the apparatus4902 may have an interface to provide (e.g., output, send, transmit,etc.) information for RF transmission. For example, the processingsystem 4904 may output information, via a bus interface, to an RF frontend for RF transmission. Similarly, rather than receiving informationvia RF signaling, the apparatus 4902 may have an interface to obtaininformation that is received by another apparatus. For example, theprocessing system 4904 may obtain (e.g., receive) information, via a businterface, from an RF receiver that received the information via RFsignaling.

Example Processes

FIG. 50 illustrates an example process 5000 for communication inaccordance with some aspects of the disclosure. The process 5000 maytake place within a processing system (e.g., the processing system 4904of FIG. 49), which may be located in an AP, a STA, or some othersuitable apparatus. Of course, in various aspects within the scope ofthe disclosure, the process 5000 may be implemented by any suitableapparatus capable of supporting communication-related operations.

At block 5002, an apparatus (e.g., an AP or some other node) obtainssignal measurement information indicative of channel conditions betweena plurality of first wireless nodes (e.g., APs) and a plurality ofsecond wireless nodes (e.g., STAs). In some aspects, the plurality offirst wireless nodes may include at least part of a cluster of wirelessnodes configured to collectively serve the plurality of second wirelessnodes. In some aspects, the cluster may include a coordinatedbeamforming cluster or a joint multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO)cluster.

The signal measurement information may take different forms in differentscenarios. In some aspects, the signal measurement information mayinclude at least one received signal strength indication (RSSI). In someaspects, the signal measurement information may include at least onesignal-to-interference-and-noise ratio (SINR). In some aspects, thesignal measurement information may be for at least one uplink signal, atleast one downlink signal, or any combination thereof.

In some aspects, the signal measurement information may include a resultof at least one beacon signal measurement. In addition, the obtainingmay include obtaining the result of the at least one beacon signalmeasurement. In some aspects, the process 5000 may further include theapparatus generating a request for the plurality of second wirelessnodes to measure a beacon signal from each of the plurality of firstwireless nodes and outputting the request (e.g., for transmission toaccess points of the cluster). In this case, the result of the at leastone beacon signal measurement may be obtained after outputting therequest.

In some aspects, the signal measurement information may include a resultof at least one sounding measurement. In addition, the obtaining mayinclude obtaining the result of the at least one sounding measurement.In some aspects, the process 5000 may further include the apparatusgenerating a request for the plurality of second wireless nodes toconduct a sounding measurement with each of the plurality of firstwireless nodes and outputting the request (e.g., for transmission toaccess points of the cluster). In this case, the result of the at leastone sounding measurement may be obtained after outputting the request.

In some aspects, the signal measurement information may include a resultof at least one uplink signal measurement. In addition, the obtainingmay include obtaining the result of the at least one uplink signalmeasurement. In some aspects, the process 5000 may further include theapparatus generating a request for the plurality of second wirelessnodes to transmit an uplink signal to each of the plurality of firstwireless nodes and outputting the request (e.g., for transmission toaccess points of the cluster). In this case, the result of the at leastone uplink signal measurement may be obtained after outputting therequest.

In some aspects, at least one of the plurality of second wireless nodesmay be associated with one of the plurality of first wireless nodes. Insome aspects, the at least one of the plurality of second wireless nodesmay be a basic service set.

At block 5004, the apparatus determines which of the plurality of firstwireless nodes is to perform a nulling operation for one or more of theplurality of second wireless nodes, wherein the determination is basedon the obtained signal measurement information.

At block 5006, the apparatus generates a list identifying each of theplurality of first wireless nodes that is to perform a nulling operationfor a particular one of the plurality of second wireless nodes, whereinthe generation of the list is based on the determination of block 5004.

At block 5008, the apparatus outputs the list for transmission.

FIG. 51 illustrates an example process 5100 for communication inaccordance with some aspects of the disclosure. The process 5100 maytake place within a processing system (e.g., the processing system 4904of FIG. 49), which may be located in an AP, a STA, or some othersuitable apparatus. Of course, in various aspects within the scope ofthe disclosure, the process 5100 may be implemented by any suitableapparatus capable of supporting communication-related operations.

At block 5102, an apparatus (e.g., an AP, a STA, or some other node)obtains, for each of a plurality of first wireless nodes in a cluster offirst wireless nodes, signal measurement information with respect to atleast one second wireless node. In some aspects, the signal measurementinformation may include at least one received signal strength indication(RSSI), at least one signal-to-interference-and-noise ratio (SINR), orany combination thereof. In some aspects, the signal measurementinformation may be reported by the at least one second wireless node toan associated one of the plurality of first wireless nodes in thecluster. In some aspects, the cluster may include a coordinatedbeamforming cluster or a joint multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO)cluster.

At block 5104, the apparatus generates an indication based on the signalmeasurement information. In some aspects, the indication may include:the signal measurement information, an identifier of an access pointthat is to perform nulling, or some other information.

At block 5106, the apparatus outputs the indication (e.g., fortransmission to at least one access point).

In some aspects, the process 5100 may further include the apparatusgenerating a packet including a media access control (MAC) header, theheader having a high efficiency control field including the indicationtherein or a management frame including the indication therein. Inaddition, the outputting of the indication may include outputting thepacket.

In some aspects, the process 5100 may further include the apparatusdetermining whether at least one of the plurality of first wirelessnodes is to generate at least one nulling signal for the at least onesecond wireless node. In some aspects, the determination may be based onthe signal measurement information. In addition, the generation of theindication may involve including at least one identifier of the at leastone of the plurality of first wireless nodes in the indication.

In some aspects, the at least one second wireless node may include aplurality of second wireless nodes in a set of second wireless nodesserved by a first one of the plurality of first wireless nodes. Inaddition, the apparatus may output the indication for transmission to atleast a second one of the plurality of first wireless nodes. In someaspects, the set of second wireless nodes may include a basic serviceset.

In some aspects, process 5100 may include the apparatus obtainingadditional signal measurement information from the at least a second oneof the plurality of first wireless nodes, and generating a transmissionschedule based on the additional signal measurement information. In someaspects, the additional signal measurement information may relate to atleast one other second wireless node associated with the at least asecond one of the plurality of first wireless nodes. In some aspects,transmission of signal measurement information by the first one of theplurality of first wireless nodes to the at least a second one of theplurality of first wireless nodes may be scheduled by one of theplurality of first wireless nodes in the cluster.

In some aspects, the process 5100 may further include the apparatusobtaining a request to measure a beacon signal from each of theplurality of first wireless nodes in the cluster. In some aspects, theobtaining of the signal measurement may include measuring a beaconsignal from each of the plurality of first wireless nodes in thecluster. In some aspects, the outputting of the indication fortransmission may include outputting a result of the measurement of thebeacon signal.

In some aspects, the process 5100 may further include the apparatusobtaining a request to conduct a sounding measurement with each of theplurality of first wireless nodes in the cluster. In some aspects, theobtaining of the signal measurement may include conducting a soundingmeasurement with each of the plurality of first wireless nodes in thecluster. In some aspects, the outputting of the indication fortransmission may include outputting a result of the sounding measurementbased on the sounding measurement.

In some aspects, the process 5100 may further include the apparatusobtaining a request to transmit an uplink signal to each of theplurality of first wireless nodes in the cluster, and outputting anuplink signal for transmission to each of the plurality of firstwireless nodes in the cluster after obtaining the request.

FIG. 52 illustrates an example process 5200 for communication inaccordance with some aspects of the disclosure. The process 5200 maytake place within a processing system (e.g., the processing system 4904of FIG. 49), which may be located in an AP, a STA, or some othersuitable apparatus. Of course, in various aspects within the scope ofthe disclosure, the process 5200 may be implemented by any suitableapparatus capable of supporting communication-related operations.

At block 5202, an apparatus (e.g., an AP or some other node) identifiesa plurality of first wireless nodes to be scheduled for a channelsounding operation, wherein the plurality of first wireless nodes aremembers of a cluster of first wireless nodes. In some aspects, thecluster may include a coordinated beamforming cluster or a jointmultiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) cluster.

At block 5204, the apparatus identifies a plurality of second wirelessnodes to be scheduled for the channel sounding operation, wherein afirst one of the plurality of second wireless nodes is served by a firstone of the plurality of first wireless nodes and a second one of theplurality of second wireless nodes is served by a second one of theplurality of first wireless nodes. In some aspects, the identificationof the plurality of second wireless nodes may include identifyingwireless nodes that are to measure each individual null data packet(NDP) sent by at least one of the plurality of first wireless nodes.

At block 5206, the apparatus generates a sounding schedule includingidentifiers for the identified plurality of first wireless nodes and theidentified plurality of second wireless nodes.

In some aspects, the sounding schedule may include: an order in whichthe plurality of first wireless nodes are to send respective null datapackets (NDPs), a beamforming report (BFRP) configuration for each ofthe plurality of second wireless nodes, a tone grouping number for eachof the plurality of second wireless nodes, a codebook size for each ofthe plurality of second wireless nodes, a null data packet (NDP)configuration for each of the plurality of first wireless nodes, an NDPbandwidth for each of the plurality of first wireless nodes, a number ofsounding streams for each of the plurality of first wireless nodes, orany combination thereof.

At block 5208, the apparatus outputs the sounding schedule (e.g., fortransmission to access points of the cluster).

In some aspects, the process 5200 may further include the apparatusgenerating a scheduling frame including the sounding schedule therein.In some aspects, the outputting of the sounding schedule may includeoutputting the scheduling frame for transmission at a beginning of asounding sequence.

In some aspects, the process 5200 may further include the apparatusgenerating a null data packet announcement (NDPA) frame including thesounding schedule therein. In some aspects, the outputting of thesounding schedule may include outputting the NDPA frame for transmissionat a beginning of a sounding sequence.

In some aspects, the process 5200 may further include the apparatusgenerating a sounding trigger and scheduling frame including thesounding schedule therein. In some aspects, the outputting of thesounding schedule may include outputting the sounding trigger andscheduling frame for transmission at a beginning of a sounding sequence.

In some aspects, the process 5200 may further include the apparatusobtaining information for the identification of the plurality of firstwireless nodes, the plurality of second wireless nodes, or anycombination thereof. In some aspects, the process 5200 may furtherinclude the apparatus outputting at least one query for transmission,where the at least one query solicits the information from the pluralityof first wireless nodes. In some aspects, the at least one query mayindicate at least one resource to be used per response, and the at leastone resource may include at least one sub-band, at least one spatialstream, at least one time slot, or any combination thereof. In someaspects, the process 5200 may further include the apparatus outputtingat least one query for transmission, where the at least one querysolicits the information from the plurality of second wireless nodes. Insome aspects, the obtaining of the information may include obtainingautonomous advertisements including the information from the pluralityof first wireless nodes. In some aspects, the obtaining of theinformation may include obtaining autonomous advertisements includingthe information from the plurality of second wireless nodes.

In some aspects, the information may include: second wireless nodeidentifiers per basic service set (BSS) of any of the plurality ofsecond wireless nodes that are candidates for distributed multiple-inputmultiple-output (MIMO) data reception within the cluster, secondwireless node identifiers of any of the plurality of second wirelessnodes that have data to send, first wireless node identifiers of any ofthe plurality of first wireless nodes that are candidates to perform anulling operation with respect to at least one of the plurality ofsecond wireless nodes, capability information for distributed MIMOsounding for at least one of the plurality of second wireless nodes, orany combination thereof.

FIG. 53 illustrates an example process 5300 for communication inaccordance with some aspects of the disclosure. The process 5300 maytake place within a processing system (e.g., the processing system 4904of FIG. 49), which may be located in an AP, a STA, or some othersuitable apparatus. Of course, in various aspects within the scope ofthe disclosure, the process 5300 may be implemented by any suitableapparatus capable of supporting communication-related operations.

At block 5302, an apparatus (e.g., an AP or some other node) identifiesa plurality of first wireless nodes, wherein the plurality of firstwireless nodes are members of a cluster of first wireless nodes. In someaspects, the identification of the plurality of first wireless nodes mayinclude determining, for each of the plurality of first wireless nodesof the cluster of first wireless nodes, whether the first wireless nodehas sufficient dimensions to serve at least one of the plurality ofsecond wireless nodes in a basic service set of the first wireless nodeand to null any of the plurality of second wireless nodes not in thebasic service set of the first wireless node that require nulling forthe distributed MIMO communication. In some aspects, the cluster mayinclude a coordinated beamforming cluster or a joint multiple-inputmultiple-output (MIMO) cluster.

At block 5304, the apparatus identifies a plurality of second wirelessnodes, wherein a first one of the plurality of second wireless nodes isserved by a first one of the plurality of first wireless nodes and asecond one of the plurality of second wireless nodes is served by asecond one of the plurality of first wireless nodes. In some aspects,the identification of the plurality of second wireless nodes mayinclude, for each of the plurality of first wireless nodes, identifyingat least one of the plurality of second wireless nodes in a basicservice set of the first wireless node that is served by the firstwireless node and has data to send. In some aspects, the identificationof the plurality of second wireless nodes may include, for each of theplurality of first wireless nodes, identifying at least one of theplurality of second wireless nodes that is not in a basic service set ofthe first wireless node and is to be nulled by the first wireless node.

At block 5306, the apparatus generates a communication schedule for adistributed multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) communication (e.g., adownlink transmission or an uplink transmission), wherein thecommunication schedule includes identifiers of the plurality of firstwireless nodes and identifiers of the plurality of second wirelessnodes. In some aspects, the distributed MIMO communication may include acoordinated beamforming (COBF) communication or a joint multiple-inputmultiple-output (MIMO) communication.

In some aspects, the communication schedule may include trigger framescheduling information for the plurality of first wireless nodes. Insome aspects, the trigger frame scheduling information may include: anidentifier for each of the plurality of first wireless nodes, at leastone trigger frame resource allocation for each of the plurality of firstwireless nodes, at least one start stream index for each of theplurality of first wireless nodes, at least one stream number for eachof the plurality of first wireless nodes, at least one time slot foreach of the plurality of first wireless nodes, at least one sub-band foreach of the plurality of first wireless nodes, at least one modulationand coding scheme (MCS) for each of the plurality of first wirelessnodes, a duration of at least one trigger frame transmission, at leastone bandwidth for at least one trigger frame transmission, or anycombination thereof.

In some aspects, the communication schedule may include: a secondwireless node identifier for each of the plurality of second wirelessnodes, at least one distributed MIMO communication resource allocationfor each of the plurality of second wireless nodes, at least oneidentifier of at least one of the plurality of first wireless nodesscheduled to perform a nulling operation for at least one of theplurality of second wireless nodes, at least one received signalstrength indication (RSSI) at each of the plurality of first wirelessnodes, a duration of the distributed MIMO communication, at least onebandwidth for the distributed MIMO communication, or any combinationthereof.

In some aspects, the communication schedule may include: at least onestart stream index for each of the plurality of second wireless nodes,at least one stream number for each of the plurality of second wirelessnodes, at least one modulation and coding scheme (MCS) for each of theplurality of second wireless nodes, at least one identifier of at leastone of the plurality of first wireless nodes not scheduled to perform anulling operation for at least one of the plurality of second wirelessnodes, or any combination thereof.

In some aspects, the communication schedule may include schedulinginformation for at least one acknowledgement of the distributed MIMOcommunication. In some aspects, the scheduling information may include:at least one acknowledgement resource for each of the plurality ofsecond wireless nodes, at least one acknowledgement resource for all ofthe plurality of second wireless nodes, at least one start stream indexfor each of the plurality of second wireless nodes, at least one streamnumber for each of the plurality of second wireless nodes, at least onetime slot for each of the plurality of second wireless nodes, at leastone sub-band for each of the plurality of second wireless nodes, atleast one modulation and coding scheme (MCS) for each of the pluralityof second wireless nodes, or any combination thereof.

At block 5308, the apparatus outputs the communication schedule fortransmission.

In some aspects, the process 5300 may include the apparatus generatingat least one scheduling frame including the communication schedule. Insome aspects, the outputting of the communication schedule may includeoutputting the at least one scheduling frame for transmission. In someaspects, the at least one scheduling frame may be output fortransmission prior to, combined with, or after at least one triggerframe. In some aspects, the at least one scheduling frame may include anaggregate scheduling frame for all of the plurality of first wirelessnodes, the aggregate scheduling frame is output for transmission priorto the distributed MIMO communication. In some aspects, the at least onescheduling frame may be to trigger the plurality of second wirelessnodes to commence the distributed MIMO communication. In some aspects,the at least one scheduling frame may include an indication informingthe plurality of first wireless nodes to skip sending trigger frames. Insome aspects, the at least one scheduling frame may include a pluralityof frames for a plurality of distributed MIMO transmissions, for aparticular one of the frames, the particular frame precedes acorresponding one of the plurality of distributed MIMO transmissions. Insome aspects, the plurality of frames may include trigger frames. Insome aspects, the process 5300 may include the apparatus soliciting anacknowledgement of the plurality of distributed MIMO transmissions. Insome aspects, the at least one scheduling frame may include a triggerand scheduling frame for all of the plurality of first wireless nodes.In some aspects, the at least one scheduling frame may be to trigger theplurality of first wireless nodes to commence transmission of at leastone trigger frame. In some aspects, the at least one trigger frame maybe to trigger distributed MIMO transmissions for all of the plurality offirst wireless nodes. In some aspects, the at least one trigger framemay be to trigger at least one of the plurality of second wireless nodesto commence the distributed MIMO communication.

In some aspects, the process 5300 may include the apparatus generating atrigger frame that includes the communication schedule. In some aspects,the outputting of the communication schedule may include outputting thetrigger frame for transmission prior to the distributed MIMOcommunication.

In some aspects, the process 5300 may include the apparatus obtainingsecond wireless node information. In some aspects, the generation of thecommunication schedule may be based on the second wireless nodeinformation. In some aspects, the second wireless node information mayinclude: identifiers per basic service set (BSS) of any of the pluralityof second wireless nodes that are candidates for distributedmultiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) data reception within the cluster,second wireless node identifiers of any of the plurality of secondwireless nodes for which there is data, capability information fordistributed MIMO reception by each of the plurality of second wirelessnodes, at least one resource for the distributed MIMO communication toeach of the plurality of second wireless nodes, at least one identifierof at least one of the plurality of first wireless nodes that is acandidate to perform a nulling operation for at least one of theplurality of second wireless nodes, at least one scheduling prioritymetric for each of the plurality of second wireless nodes, receivedsignal strength indication (RSSI) difference tolerance information foreach of the plurality of second wireless nodes, or any combinationthereof. In some aspects, the RSSI difference tolerance information mayinclude, for each of the plurality of second wireless nodes, a maximumtolerable RSSI at a serving first wireless node due to at least onetransmission by the second wireless node, RSSI at each first wirelessnode due to at least one transmission by the second wireless node, orany combination thereof. In some aspects, the second wireless nodeinformation may include acknowledgement information for at least oneacknowledgement of the distributed MIMO data communication. In someaspects, the acknowledgement information may include, for each of theplurality of second wireless nodes: at least one requiredacknowledgement resource, acknowledgement transmission capabilityinformation, at least one start stream index, at least one streamnumber, at least one time slot, at least one sub-band, at least onemodulation and coding scheme (MCS), or any combination thereof. In someaspects, the second wireless node information may include at least oneacknowledgement resource for all of the plurality of second wirelessnodes. In some aspects, the process 5300 may include the apparatusoutputting at least one query for transmission. In some aspects, the atleast one query may solicit the second wireless node information fromthe plurality of first wireless nodes. In some aspects, the at least onequery indicates at least one resource to be used per response, and theat least one resource may include at least one sub-band, at least onespatial stream index range, at least one time slot, or any combinationthereof. In some aspects, the process 5300 may include the apparatusoutputting at least one query for transmission. In some aspects, the atleast one query may solicit the second wireless node information fromthe plurality of second wireless nodes. In some aspects, the obtainingof the second wireless node information may include: obtainingautonomous advertisements that include the second wireless nodeinformation from the plurality of first wireless nodes. In some aspects,the obtaining of the autonomous advertisements may include collectinginformation during designated advertisement periods. In some aspects,the obtaining of the second wireless node information may include:obtaining autonomous advertisements that include the second wirelessnode information from the plurality of second wireless nodes.

FIG. 54 illustrates an example process 5400 for communication inaccordance with some aspects of the disclosure. The process 5400 maytake place within a processing system (e.g., the processing system 4904of FIG. 49), which may be located in an AP, a STA, or some othersuitable apparatus. Of course, in various aspects within the scope ofthe disclosure, the process 5400 may be implemented by any suitableapparatus capable of supporting communication-related operations.

At block 5402, an apparatus (e.g., an AP or some other node) obtains acommunication schedule, wherein the communication schedule identifies aplurality of first wireless nodes and second wireless nodes scheduledfor a distributed multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) communication,wherein the plurality of first wireless nodes are members of a clusterof first wireless nodes.

At block 5404, the apparatus generates information for the distributedMIMO communication based on the communication schedule.

At block 5406, the apparatus outputs the information (e.g., fortransmission to stations in a cluster).

In some aspects, the process 5400 may include the apparatus outputtingsecond wireless node information for transmission. In some aspects, thesecond wireless node information may be for generation of thecommunication schedule. In some aspects, the second wireless nodeinformation may be output for transmission via: at least one physical(PHY) layer preamble, at least one high efficiency (HE) control field ofa media access control (MAC) header, at least one information element,or any combination thereof. In some aspects, the process 5400 mayinclude the apparatus obtaining at least one query. In some aspects, theat least one query may solicit the second wireless node information. Insome aspects, the second wireless node information may be output afterobtaining the at least one query.

FIG. 55 illustrates an example process 5500 for communication inaccordance with some aspects of the disclosure. The process 5500 maytake place within a processing system (e.g., the processing system 4904of FIG. 49), which may be located in an AP, a STA, or some othersuitable apparatus. Of course, in various aspects within the scope ofthe disclosure, the process 5500 may be implemented by any suitableapparatus capable of supporting communication-related operations.

At block 5502, an apparatus (e.g., an AP or some other node) obtains acommunication schedule that identifies a plurality of first wirelessnodes of a wireless node cluster for collectively serving a plurality ofsecond wireless nodes via a distributed multiple-input multiple-output(MIMO) communication. In some aspects, the communication schedule mayspecify that a first one of the plurality of second wireless nodescommunicates with a first one of the plurality of first wireless nodesduring a particular timeslot and a second one of the plurality of secondwireless nodes communicates with a second one of the plurality of firstwireless nodes during the particular timeslot.

At block 5504, the apparatus generates a frame to trigger thedistributed MIMO communication (e.g., uplink communication) by theplurality of second wireless nodes, wherein the generation of the frameis based on the communication schedule. In some aspects, the frame mayinclude a trigger frame including the communication schedule. In someaspects, the trigger frame may be scheduled for transmission prior tothe distributed MIMO communication.

At block 5506, the apparatus outputs the frame (e.g., for transmissionto at least one access point of a cluster).

In some aspects, the process 5500 may include the apparatus determining,from the communication schedule, scheduling information for each of theplurality of second wireless nodes in a basic service set of one of theplurality of first wireless nodes. In some aspects, the process 5500 mayinclude the apparatus outputting the scheduling information fortransmission on a resource that is orthogonal to any resource used byany other one of the plurality of first wireless nodes for communicationof other scheduling information.

In some aspects, the process 5500 may include the apparatus determining,from the communication schedule, scheduling information for each of theplurality of second wireless nodes in a basic service set of one of theplurality of first wireless nodes. In some aspects, the process 5500 mayinclude the apparatus outputting the scheduling information fortransmission on the same resource that is used by any other one of theplurality of first wireless nodes for communication of other schedulinginformation.

In some aspects, the process 5500 may include the apparatus outputting apreamble for transmission on a resource that is used by at least oneother one of the plurality of first wireless nodes for communication ofthe preamble.

In some aspects, the process 5500 may include the apparatus outputting apreamble for transmission on a resource that is orthogonal to anyresource used by at least one other one of the plurality of firstwireless nodes for communication of another preamble.

In some aspects, the process 5500 may include the apparatus outputtingsecond wireless node information for transmission, wherein the secondwireless node information may be for generation of the communicationschedule. In some aspects, the second wireless node information may beoutput for transmission via: at least one physical (PHY) layer preamble,at least one high efficiency (HE) control field of a media accesscontrol (MAC) header, at least one information element, or anycombination thereof. In some aspects, the process 5500 may include theapparatus obtaining at least one query. In some aspects, the at leastone query solicits the second wireless node information. In someaspects, the second wireless node information may be output after the atleast one query is obtained.

In some aspects, the process 5500 may include the apparatus determining,from the communication schedule, scheduling information for each of theplurality of second wireless nodes in a basic service set of one of theplurality of first wireless nodes. In some aspects, the generation ofthe frame may include generating at least one trigger frame based on thescheduling information. In some aspects, the outputting of the frame mayinclude the outputting the at least one trigger frame for transmissionto each of the plurality of second wireless nodes in the basic serviceset of one of the plurality of first wireless nodes. In some aspects,the at least one trigger frame may include a plurality of trigger framesfor a plurality of distributed MIMO transmissions. In some aspects, fora particular one of the trigger frames, the particular trigger frameprecedes a corresponding one of the plurality of distributed MIMOtransmissions. In some aspects, the at least one trigger frame mayinclude at least one acknowledgement of a distributed MIMOcommunication. In some aspects, the at least one trigger frame mayinclude a trigger and scheduling frame for all of the plurality of firstwireless nodes. In some aspects, the trigger and scheduling frame may bescheduled for transmission prior to the distributed MIMO communication.

In some aspects, the process 5500 may include the apparatus determiningscheduling information for all of the plurality of second wireless nodesbased on the communication schedule. In some aspects, the frame mayinclude a trigger frame including the scheduling information for all ofthe plurality of second wireless nodes.

FIG. 56 illustrates an example process 5600 for communication inaccordance with some aspects of the disclosure. The process 5600 maytake place within a processing system (e.g., the processing system 4904of FIG. 49), which may be located in an AP, a STA, or some othersuitable apparatus. Of course, in various aspects within the scope ofthe disclosure, the process 5600 may be implemented by any suitableapparatus capable of supporting communication-related operations.

At block 5602, an apparatus (e.g., an AP or some other node) obtains acommunication schedule, wherein the communication schedule identifies aplurality of first wireless nodes for a multiple basic service set(multi-BSS) joint communication, wherein the plurality of first wirelessnodes are members of a cluster of first wireless nodes. In some aspects,the communication schedule is sent by one of the plurality of firstwireless nodes prior to the joint transmission. In some aspects, themulti-BSS joint communication may be a multi-BSS coordinated beamformingcommunication, a joint MIMO communication, or an orthogonal frequencydivision multiple access (OFDMA) communication.

At block 5604, the apparatus generates a frame based on thecommunication schedule.

At block 5606, the apparatus outputs the frame (e.g., for transmissionto at least one station in a cluster).

In some aspects, a physical layer preamble of the frame may include anon-scheduling-related preamble section and a scheduling-relatedpreamble section. In some aspects, the non-scheduling-related preamblesection has the same contents for all of the plurality of first wirelessnodes and is for transmission over the same resource by all of theplurality of first wireless nodes. In some aspects, the same contentsinclude resource allocation information for the scheduling relatedpreamble section for each of the plurality of first wireless nodes. Insome aspects, the scheduling-related preamble section has same contentsfor each of the plurality of first wireless nodes and is fortransmission over the same resource by all of the plurality of firstwireless nodes. In some aspects, the same contents include downlinkscheduling information for all scheduled second wireless nodesassociated with the plurality of first wireless nodes. In some aspects,the scheduling-related preamble section has different contents for eachof the plurality of first wireless nodes and is for transmission overorthogonal resource by different one of the plurality of first wirelessnodes. In some aspects, the different contents for each of the pluralityof first wireless nodes include downlink scheduling information for allscheduled second wireless nodes associated with the plurality of firstwireless nodes.

Example Apparatus

The components described herein may be implemented in a variety of ways.Referring to FIG. 57, an apparatus 5700 is represented as a series ofinterrelated functional blocks that represent functions implemented by,for example, one or more integrated circuits (e.g., an ASIC) orimplemented in some other manner as taught herein. As discussed herein,an integrated circuit may include a processor, software, othercomponents, or some combination thereof.

The apparatus 5700 includes one or more components (modules) that mayperform one or more of the functions described herein with regard tovarious figures. For example, a circuit (e.g., an ASIC) for obtaining5702, e.g., a means for obtaining, may correspond to, for example, aninterface (e.g., a bus interface, a send/receive interface), acommunication device, a transceiver, a transmitter, or some othersimilar component as discussed herein. A circuit (e.g., an ASIC) fordetermining 5704, e.g., a means for determining, may correspond to, forexample, a processing system as discussed herein. A circuit (e.g., anASIC) for generating 5706, e.g., a means for generating, may correspondto, for example, a processing system as discussed herein. A circuit(e.g., an ASIC) for outputting 5708, e.g., a means for outputting, maycorrespond to, for example, an interface (e.g., a bus interface, asend/receive interface), a communication device, a transceiver, areceiver, or some other similar component as discussed herein. A circuit(e.g., an ASIC) for identifying 5710, e.g., a means for identifying, maycorrespond to, for example, a processing system as discussed herein. Acircuit (e.g., an ASIC) for soliciting 5712, e.g., a means forsoliciting, may correspond to, for example, a processing system asdiscussed herein.

Two or more of the modules of FIG. 57 may communicate with each other orsome other component via a signaling bus 5714. In variousimplementations, the processing system 4604 of FIG. 46 and/or theprocessing system 4904 of FIG. 49 may include one or more of thecircuits of FIG. 57.

As noted above, in some aspects these modules may be implemented viaappropriate processor components. These processor components may in someaspects be implemented, at least in part, using structure as taughtherein. In some aspects, a processor may be configured to implement aportion or all of the functionality of one or more of these modules.Thus, the functionality of different modules may be implemented, forexample, as different subsets of an integrated circuit, as differentsubsets of a set of software modules, or a combination thereof. Also, itshould be appreciated that a given subset (e.g., of an integratedcircuit and/or of a set of software modules) may provide at least aportion of the functionality for more than one module. In some aspectsone or more of any components represented herein by dashed boxes may beoptional.

As noted above, the apparatus 5700 may include or take the form of oneor more integrated circuits in some implementations. For example, insome aspects a single integrated circuit implements the functionality ofone or more of the illustrated components, while in other aspects morethan one integrated circuit implements the functionality of one or moreof the illustrated components. As one specific example, the apparatus5700 may be a single device (e.g., with components 5702-5712constituting different sections of an ASIC). As another specificexample, the apparatus 5700 may be several devices (e.g., with thecomponents 5702 and 5708 constituting one ASIC, and the components 5704,5706, 5710, and 5712 constituting another ASIC).

In addition, the components and functions represented by FIG. 57 as wellas other components and functions described herein, may be implementedusing any suitable means. Such means are implemented, at least in part,using corresponding structure as taught herein. For example, thecomponents described above in conjunction with the “ASIC for” componentsof FIG. 57 correspond to similarly designated “means for” functionality.Thus, one or more of such means is implemented using one or more ofprocessor components, integrated circuits, or other suitable structureas taught herein in some implementations.

The various operations of methods described herein may be performed byany suitable means capable of performing the corresponding functions.The means may include various hardware and/or software component(s)and/or module(s), including, but not limited to a circuit, anapplication specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or processor. Generally,where there are operations illustrated in figures, those operations mayhave corresponding counterpart means-plus-function components withsimilar functionality and/or numbering. For example, the blocks of theprocesses 5000-5600 illustrated herein may correspond at least in someaspects, to corresponding blocks of the apparatus 5700 illustrated inFIG. 57. For example, a means for obtaining may be the circuit forobtaining 5702, a means for determining be the circuit for determining5704, a means for generating may be the circuit for generating 5706, ameans for outputting may be the circuit for outputting 5708, a means foridentifying may be the circuit for identifying 5710, and a means forsoliciting may be the circuit for soliciting 5712.

Referring to FIG. 58, programming stored by the memory 5802 (e.g. astorage medium, a memory device, etc.), when executed by a processingsystem (e.g., the processing system 4904 of FIG. 48), causes theprocessing system to perform one or more of the various functions and/orprocess operations described herein. For example, the programming, whenexecuted by the processing system 4904, may cause the processing system4904 to perform the various functions, steps, and/or processes describedherein in various implementations. As shown in FIG. 58, the memory 5800may include one or more of code for obtaining 5802, code for determining5804, code for generating 5806, code for outputting 5808, code foridentifying 5810, and code for soliciting 5712. In some aspects, one ofmore of the code for obtaining 5802, the code for determining 5804, thecode for generating 5806, the code for outputting 5808, the code foridentifying 5810, or the code for soliciting 5712 may be executed orotherwise used to provide the functionality described herein for thecircuit for obtaining 5702, the circuit for determining 5704, thecircuit for generating 5706, the circuit for outputting 5708, thecircuit for identifying 5710, or the circuit for soliciting 5712. Insome aspects, the memory 5800 of FIG. 58 may correspond to the memory4906 of FIG. 49.

Additional Aspects

The examples set forth herein are provided to illustrate certainconcepts of the disclosure. Those of ordinary skill in the art willcomprehend that these are merely illustrative in nature, and otherexamples may fall within the scope of the disclosure and the appendedclaims. Based on the teachings herein those skilled in the art shouldappreciate that an aspect disclosed herein may be implementedindependently of any other aspects and that two or more of these aspectsmay be combined in various ways. For example, an apparatus may beimplemented or a method may be practiced using any number of the aspectsset forth herein. In addition, such an apparatus may be implemented orsuch a method may be practiced using other structure, functionality, orstructure and functionality in addition to or other than one or more ofthe aspects set forth herein.

As those skilled in the art will readily appreciate, various aspectsdescribed throughout this disclosure may be extended to any suitabletelecommunication system, network architecture, and communicationstandard. By way of example, various aspects may be applied to wide areanetworks, peer-to-peer network, local area network, other suitablesystems, or any combination thereof, including those described byyet-to-be defined standards.

Many aspects are described in terms of sequences of actions to beperformed by, for example, elements of a computing device. It will berecognized that various actions described herein can be performed byspecific circuits, for example, central processing units (CPUs), graphicprocessing units (GPUs), digital signal processors (DSPs), applicationspecific integrated circuits (ASICs), field programmable gate arrays(FPGAs), or various other types of general purpose or special purposeprocessors or circuits, by program instructions being executed by one ormore processors, or by a combination of both. Additionally, thesesequence of actions described herein can be considered to be embodiedentirely within any form of computer readable storage medium havingstored therein a corresponding set of computer instructions that uponexecution would cause an associated processor to perform thefunctionality described herein (e.g., computer-readable medium storingcomputer-executable code, including code to perform the functionalitydescribed herein). Thus, the various aspects of the disclosure may beembodied in a number of different forms, all of which have beencontemplated to be within the scope of the claimed subject matter. Inaddition, for each of the aspects described herein, the correspondingform of any such aspects may be described herein as, for example, “logicconfigured to” perform the described action.

In some aspects, an apparatus or any component of an apparatus may beconfigured to (or operable to or adapted to) provide functionality astaught herein. This may be achieved, for example: by manufacturing(e.g., fabricating) the apparatus or component so that it will providethe functionality; by programming the apparatus or component so that itwill provide the functionality; or through the use of some othersuitable implementation technique. As one example, an integrated circuitmay be fabricated to provide the requisite functionality. As anotherexample, an integrated circuit may be fabricated to support therequisite functionality and then configured (e.g., via programming) toprovide the requisite functionality. As yet another example, a processorcircuit may execute code to provide the requisite functionality.

Those of skill in the art will appreciate that information and signalsmay be represented using any of a variety of different technologies andtechniques. For example, data, instructions, commands, information,signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be referenced throughout theabove description may be represented by voltages, currents,electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields orparticles, or any combination thereof.

Further, those of skill in the art will appreciate that the variousillustrative logical blocks, modules, circuits, and algorithm stepsdescribed in connection with the aspects disclosed herein may beimplemented as electronic hardware, computer software, or combinationsof both. To clearly illustrate this interchangeability of hardware andsoftware, various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits,and steps have been described above generally in terms of theirfunctionality. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware orsoftware depends upon the particular application and design constraintsimposed on the overall system. Skilled artisans may implement thedescribed functionality in varying ways for each particular application,but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing adeparture from the scope of the disclosure.

One or more of the components, steps, features and/or functionsillustrated in above may be rearranged and/or combined into a singlecomponent, step, feature or function or embodied in several components,steps, or functions. Additional elements, components, steps, and/orfunctions may also be added without departing from novel featuresdisclosed herein. The apparatus, devices, and/or components illustratedabove may be configured to perform one or more of the methods, features,or steps described herein. The novel algorithms described herein mayalso be efficiently implemented in software and/or embedded in hardware.

It is to be understood that the specific order or hierarchy of steps inthe methods disclosed is an illustration of example processes. Basedupon design preferences, it is understood that the specific order orhierarchy of steps in the methods may be rearranged. The accompanyingmethod claims present elements of the various steps in a sample order,and are not meant to be limited to the specific order or hierarchypresented unless specifically recited therein.

The methods, sequences or algorithms described in connection with theaspects disclosed herein may be embodied directly in hardware, in asoftware module executed by a processor, or in a combination of the two.A software module may reside in RAM memory, flash memory, ROM memory,EPROM memory, EEPROM memory, registers, hard disk, a removable disk, aCD-ROM, or any other form of storage medium known in the art. An exampleof a storage medium is coupled to the processor such that the processorcan read information from, and write information to, the storage medium.In the alternative, the storage medium may be integral to the processor.

The word “exemplary” is used herein to mean “serving as an example,instance, or illustration.” Any aspect described herein as “exemplary”is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous overother aspects. Likewise, the term “aspects” does not require that allaspects include the discussed feature, advantage or mode of operation.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularaspects only and is not intended to be limiting of the aspects. As usedherein, the singular forms “a,” “an” and “the” are intended to includethe plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicatesotherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises,”“comprising,” “includes” or “including,” when used herein, specify thepresence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, orcomponents, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or moreother features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, orgroups thereof. Moreover, it is understood that the word “or” has thesame meaning as the Boolean operator “OR,” that is, it encompasses thepossibilities of “either” and “both” and is not limited to “exclusiveor” (“XOR”), unless expressly stated otherwise. It is also understoodthat the symbol “I” between two adjacent words has the same meaning as“or” unless expressly stated otherwise. Moreover, phrases such as“connected to,” “coupled to” or “in communication with” are not limitedto direct connections unless expressly stated otherwise.

Any reference to an element herein using a designation such as “first,”“second,” and so forth does not generally limit the quantity or order ofthose elements. Rather, these designations may be used herein as aconvenient method of distinguishing between two or more elements orinstances of an element. Thus, a reference to first and second elementsdoes not mean that only two elements may be used there or that the firstelement must precede the second element in some manner. Also, unlessstated otherwise a set of elements may include one or more elements. Inaddition, terminology of the form “at least one of a, b, or c” or “oneor more of a, b, or c” used in the description or the claims means “a orb or c or any combination of these elements.” For example, thisterminology may include a, or b, or c, or a and b, or a and c, or a andb and c, or 2 a, or 2 b, or 2 c, or 2 a and b, and so on.

As used herein, the term “determining” encompasses a wide variety ofactions. For example, “determining” may include calculating, computing,processing, deriving, investigating, looking up (e.g., looking up in atable, a database or another data structure), ascertaining, and thelike. Also, “determining” may include receiving (e.g., receivinginformation), accessing (e.g., accessing data in a memory), and thelike. Also, “determining” may include resolving, selecting, choosing,establishing, and the like.

While the foregoing disclosure shows illustrative aspects, it should benoted that various changes and modifications could be made hereinwithout departing from the scope of the appended claims. The functions,steps or actions of the method claims in accordance with aspectsdescribed herein need not be performed in any particular order unlessexpressly stated otherwise. Furthermore, although elements may bedescribed or claimed in the singular, the plural is contemplated unlesslimitation to the singular is explicitly stated.

1. An apparatus for communication, comprising: a processing systemconfigured to: identify a plurality of first wireless nodes, wherein theplurality of first wireless nodes are members of a cluster of firstwireless nodes, identify a plurality of second wireless nodes, wherein afirst one of the plurality of second wireless nodes is served by a firstone of the plurality of first wireless nodes and a second one of theplurality of second wireless nodes is served by a second one of theplurality of first wireless nodes, and generate a communication schedulefor a distributed multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) communication,wherein the communication schedule comprises identifiers of theplurality of first wireless nodes and identifiers of the plurality ofsecond wireless nodes; and an interface configured to output thecommunication schedule for transmission.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1,wherein the distributed MIMO communication comprises a coordinatedbeamforming (COBF) communication or a joint multiple-inputmultiple-output (MIMO) communication.
 3. The apparatus of claim 1,wherein the identification of the plurality of second wireless nodescomprises, for each of the plurality of first wireless nodes,identifying at least one of the plurality of second wireless nodes in abasic service set of the first wireless node that is served by the firstwireless node and has data to send.
 4. The apparatus of claim 1, whereinthe identification of the plurality of second wireless nodes comprises,for each of the plurality of first wireless nodes, identifying at leastone of the plurality of second wireless nodes that is not in a basicservice set of the first wireless node and is to be nulled by the firstwireless node.
 5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the identificationof the plurality of first wireless nodes comprises determining, for eachof the plurality of first wireless nodes, whether the first wirelessnode has sufficient dimensions to serve at least one of the plurality ofsecond wireless nodes in a basic service set of the first wireless nodeand to null any of the plurality of second wireless nodes not in thebasic service set of the first wireless node that require nulling forthe distributed MIMO communication.
 6. The apparatus of claim 1, whereinthe communication schedule further comprises trigger frame schedulinginformation for the plurality of first wireless nodes.
 7. The apparatusof claim 6, wherein the trigger frame scheduling information comprises:an identifier for each of the plurality of first wireless nodes, atleast one trigger frame resource allocation for each of the plurality offirst wireless nodes, at least one start stream index for each of theplurality of first wireless nodes, at least one stream number for eachof the plurality of first wireless nodes, at least one time slot foreach of the plurality of first wireless nodes, at least one sub-band foreach of the plurality of first wireless nodes, at least one modulationand coding scheme (MCS) for each of the plurality of first wirelessnodes, a duration of at least one trigger frame transmission, at leastone bandwidth for at least one trigger frame transmission, or anycombination thereof.
 8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein thecommunication schedule further comprises: a second wireless nodeidentifier for each of the plurality of second wireless nodes, at leastone distributed MIMO communication resource allocation for each of theplurality of second wireless nodes, at least one identifier of at leastone of the plurality of first wireless nodes scheduled to perform anulling operation for at least one of the plurality of second wirelessnodes, at least one received signal strength indication (RSSI) at eachof the plurality of first wireless nodes, a duration of the distributedMIMO communication, at least one bandwidth for the distributed MIMOcommunication, or any combination thereof.
 9. The apparatus of claim 8,wherein the communication schedule further comprises: at least one startstream index for each of the plurality of second wireless nodes, atleast one stream number for each of the plurality of second wirelessnodes, at least one modulation and coding scheme (MCS) for each of theplurality of second wireless nodes, at least one identifier of at leastone of the plurality of first wireless nodes not scheduled to perform anulling operation for at least one of the plurality of second wirelessnodes, or any combination thereof.
 10. The apparatus of claim 1, whereinthe communication schedule further comprises scheduling information forat least one acknowledgement of the distributed MIMO communication. 11.The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the scheduling information comprises:at least one acknowledgement resource for each of the plurality ofsecond wireless nodes, at least one acknowledgement resource for all ofthe plurality of second wireless nodes, at least one start stream indexfor each of the plurality of second wireless nodes, at least one streamnumber for each of the plurality of second wireless nodes, at least onetime slot for each of the plurality of second wireless nodes, at leastone sub-band for each of the plurality of second wireless nodes, atleast one modulation and coding scheme (MCS) for each of the pluralityof second wireless nodes, or any combination thereof.
 12. The apparatusof claim 1, wherein: the processing system is further configured togenerate at least one scheduling frame including the communicationschedule; and the outputting of the communication schedule comprisesoutputting the at least one scheduling frame for transmission.
 13. Theapparatus of claim 12, wherein the at least one scheduling frame isoutput for transmission prior to, combined with, or after at least onetrigger frame.
 14. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein: the at least onescheduling frame comprises an aggregate scheduling frame for all of theplurality of first wireless nodes; and the aggregate scheduling frame isoutput for transmission prior to the distributed MIMO communication. 15.The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the at least one scheduling frame isto trigger the plurality of second wireless nodes to commence thedistributed MIMO communication.
 16. The apparatus of claim 15, whereinthe at least one scheduling frame comprises an indication informing theplurality of first wireless nodes to skip sending trigger frames. 17.The apparatus of claim 12, wherein: the at least one scheduling framecomprises a plurality of frames for a plurality of distributed MIMOtransmissions; and for a particular one of the frames, the particularframe precedes a corresponding one of the plurality of distributed MIMOtransmissions.
 18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the plurality offrames comprise trigger frames. 19-37. (canceled)
 38. A method ofcommunication, comprising: identifying a plurality of first wirelessnodes, wherein the plurality of first wireless nodes are members of acluster of first wireless nodes; identifying a plurality of secondwireless nodes, wherein a first one of the plurality of second wirelessnodes is served by a first one of the plurality of first wireless nodesand a second one of the plurality of second wireless nodes is served bya second one of the plurality of first wireless nodes; generating acommunication schedule for a distributed multiple-input multiple-output(MIMO) communication, wherein the communication schedule comprisesidentifiers of the plurality of first wireless nodes and identifiers ofthe plurality of second wireless nodes; and outputting the communicationschedule for transmission. 39-111. (canceled)
 112. A wireless node,comprising: a processing system configured to: identify a plurality offirst wireless nodes, wherein the plurality of first wireless nodes aremembers of a cluster of first wireless nodes, identify a plurality ofsecond wireless nodes, wherein a first one of the plurality of secondwireless nodes is served by a first one of the plurality of firstwireless nodes and a second one of the plurality of second wirelessnodes is served by a second one of the plurality of first wirelessnodes, and generate a communication schedule for a distributedmultiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) communication, wherein thecommunication schedule comprises identifiers of the plurality of firstwireless nodes and identifiers of the plurality of second wirelessnodes; and a transmitter configured to transmit the communicationschedule.
 113. (canceled)